Free 2010 New Year Stress Less Guide

2009 is almost behind us.  I hope you've been preparing for 2010 but not to worry if you haven't done anything to get ready for the new year yet.  You should however do something different to enter 2010 than you did when you entered 2009.  That is unless you want to stay the same.

Preparing for a new year is especially important if you are going to proactively reduce or prevent stress...emotional, physical, and mental.

I put together a little resource that I hope you will find helpful. It's the 2010 New Year, New You Stress Less Guide.  Read it, follow the advice in it and share it with friends and family!

Happy New Year !

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing you a Very Merry Christmas...

May the Love of Christ Fill Your Hearts and Your Homes...

Forgiveness Freebie Tools

After all of the talk about forgiveness, the importance of forgiveness, why to forgive and ways to forgive, I compiled a nice couple of reminder sheets that you can print out, post up (for a reminder) and share with others.

Grab your Forgiveness Tools today!

Here's go entering 2010 with a clean slate...

Forgiveness with Aromatherapy

For the last week or so, the focus has been placed on forgiveness and learning to forgive people who have offended you.  The reason this subject is so important is because we are about to enter a new year shortly. Do you want to bring old baggage with you into a new season of your life? I know I don't.  That's why it's my goal to help anyone with problems "letting things go" to find as many ways possible to forgive.

While forgiving can sometimes be difficult and daunting, it's not impossible. I wanted to share something with you that I believe with prove beneficial if you are having trouble getting in the right frame of mind to forgive.

It's called Forgiveness Essential Oil. Let me explain...

Forgiveness is a proprietary blend of therapeutic grade essential oils offered by Young Living, the leader in aromatherapy oils.

Forgiveness essential oil blend is a soothing and uplifting mix of essential oils that may enhance your ability to release traumatic and hurtful memories. These oils allow for the release of negative emotions and promotes a willingness to move forward.

While you may have doubts, there is no doubt that people (including myself) have been using aromatherapy therapeutically for years with much success. If you are having difficult forgiving others or even yourself then trying Forgiveness is worth a try.

Forgiveness Essential Oil contains the following blend of essential oils: Melissa, Geranium, Frankincense, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Angelica, Lavender, Lemon, Jasmine, Roman Chamomile, Bergamot, Ylan ylang, Palmarosa, Helichrysum and Rose in a base of sesame seed oil.

Simply apply "Forgiveness" topically around the navel area on the belly or on the neck and forearms.  This precious oil can also be diffused into the air.

To obtain the Forgiveness Essential Oil Blend, visit Young Living, sign up to purchase and use distributor # 1066504 to obtain your product.  Discover the power of Aromatherapy to heal emotional wounds.

In a few days I have a special treat for you to help you leave unforgiveness in 2009 and be prepared to enter 2010 with a forgiving attitude and a fresh new outlook on life.

Fostering an Atmosphere of Forgiveness

A few days ago, I shared with you the importance of forgiveness.  Now, I would like to share how you can foster an atmosphere of forgiveness.

While forgiving others may prove difficult, aromatherapy is an alternative method of fostering an atmosphere of forgiveness.   Certain essential oils are very effective at releasing negative emotions.  A simple explanation is that certain scents can calm and relax the mind and body.  Using aromatherapy oils helps release emotional trauma and promotes a forgiving environment.  Here are some essential oils that are known among naturalists for their abilities to help you release stress and promote emotional healing:

Bergamot - This oil is very uplifting and has a highly balancing quality.  Inhaling directly or while bathing promotes relaxation

Chamomille - Releases pinned up energy and brings peace

Frankincense - This precious essential oil helps to ease emotional hurt and trauma.  The scent from the oil stabilizes your mental faculties and relieves burdens

Geranium - Helps to release anger, tension, anxiety and negative memories

Lavender - A popular oil for helping to balance the emotions

Peppermint - Helps to alleviate depression, release anger and stimulate the subconscious

There are other essential oils that can foster an atmosphere of forgiveness but there's a synergistic oil blend offered by Young Living that may enhance the ability of a person to release hurtful memories and negative emotions which paves the way to forgiveness.  This essential oil blend is called "Forgiveness" and fittingly so.  "Forgiveness" is a combination of Melissa, Geranium, Lavender, Frankincense, Sandalwood, Rosewood, Jasmine, Lemon, Angelica, Bergamot, Ylang ylang, Palmarosa, Rose, and Helichrysum Essential Oils.

This precious blend can be inhaled directly or applied topically to the body.  "Forgiveness" can be obtained from Young Living at www.youngliving.org. You'll need a distributor # to purchase.  Use 1066504.

Here's to forgiveness and moving on...

Why Forgive - Reasons for Forgiving

When a person hurts or upsets you, do you sometimes feel like you couldn't possibly forgive them?  You are not part of a rare breed.

Forgiveness is not always easy but is extremely necessary - necessary if you are going to live a peaceful, productive and whole life.  There are a number of reasons why you should always forgive, no matter what has been done to you. Of course, it's easier said than done but it's possible to always forgive. I will share ways you can learn to forgive in a few days but check out a few reasons for forgiving:

• When you forgive, you release the past and the pain
• When you forgive, God will forgive you for your sins
• When you don't forgive, you are opening a door for evil to be present in your life

There are many other reasons why you should forgive people when they offend you.  In addition to sharing some little know ways you can learn to forgive, I will provide you with a complete, comprehensive list of more reasons why forgiveness is necessary. Stay tuned

Back from Hiatus

Hi There-

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am back from my hiatus from blogging.

My product launch was a success and I'm introducing the new Blended Naturals line at various events scheduled through the remainder of 2009 and some of 2010.

I hope everyone is preparing to enjoy stress free holidays!

Time for A Break - Guest Post

TIME FOR A BREAK

Ever hear someone quip, “I know hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance on being the first victim?”

It’s good for laughs, but it’s based on false premises. Hard work has killed many people, and its typical murder weapon is a decade or two of emotional overexertion. Workaholics never stop running to keep up with little inner whispers: “Finish this… don’t forget the deadline… don’t forget the next item… get this right… you must… you have to…”

Your car wouldn’t tolerate being driven 24/7 indefinitely. Neither will your body. People who “never have time to rest” tend to eventually get their rest in the hospital—or the cemetery.

We all know as much, but our lip service to “time off” typically loses out to the idea that “the more I work now, the sooner I’ll build up a million-dollar retirement account—and then I can rest.” But once we get into the perpetual-motion habit, no amount of money in the bank ever seems enough. The time to rest is briefly but frequently—starting now.

To develop the frequent-rest habit without becoming lazy: 

•  Get up every hour for a five-minute break. Stretch, visit the bathroom, or look out the window.
• Go to bed seven to nine hours before you plan to get up—or take an afternoon nap.
• Practice deep breathing and other forms of physical and mental relaxation. A church or other religious center, or a yoga or meditation course, can provide guidance.
• Take one full day off every week—and use it for real rest, not for home maintenance (unless you find “handy” work genuinely relaxing).
• Take at least one full week of vacation—preferably two to eight—every year. And do leave home during vacation time, and don’t bring your laptop along.

Surprisingly, people who take frequent breaks are more productive. They rebuild depleted energy faster. They are less mentally distracted. And they dread their work less. (A frequent cause of working frantically, yet getting nowhere, is fear of starting the really important tasks.)

By all means, work hard. But don’t let it take over—and maybe destroy—your whole life.

For more information:

·        How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, Chapter 23, “How to Add One Hour a Day to Your Waking Life.”

www.timeday.org
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Katherine Swarts is a full-time freelance writer specializing in articles, for business newsletters and blogs as well as magazines. (Visit her Web site at www.spreadthewordcommercialwriting.com) She lives in Houston, Texas. Her favorite spare-time activities are reading, bird-watching, attending community events, and writing Christian poetry (she maintains a devotional/poetry blog at http://newsongsfromtheheart.blogspot.com)

First Things First - Guest Post

I know I told you all I'd be having a short hiatus but in the interim I still wanted to provide you would some good quality information. That's why I have a guest blogger, Katherine Swarts who has been so considerate enough to share her insight on a couple of topics that provide direction to help you avoid stress.  So without further ado...

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Working on the Priority System

You’ve heard it before: If you fail to plan, you might as well plan to fail. That holds particularly true for home-office workers with no nagging supervisors and no paychecks during idle times.

And, too often, few rewards for busy times—because many home-office workers keep busy with the wrong things.

Letting the urgent crowd out the important is a habit almost impossible to overcome without planning. If you’ve been saying that “someday” you’ll learn social networking or build a long-term marketing plan, now is the time to turn “someday” into now.

Start by organizing your work days on a priority system:

·        Make a master list of tasks: things you know you should do; things you’re already doing regularly or have scheduled for set times; things you’ve thought about doing someday. Divide complicated projects (“earn a master’s degree”) into segments (“look up 20 schools”; “contact top 10 choices”; “send applications to top 3 choices”; etc.).

·        Assign a “priority value” to each task:

o       A: very important to long-term business goals.

o       B: pretty important to either long-term goals or effective daily operations.

o       C: might be helpful but can wait; or, won’t be important for at least a month. (Don’t use this category as an excuse to procrastinate on starting big projects. Assign A or B importance to whatever parts should be done now.)

o       D: nothing to lose by scrapping the whole idea.

·        Organize tasks within each category: A1 for the most important task, A2 for the second most important, and so on.

·        Most people spend an embarrassing amount of time on Cs and Ds. As the first step out of that habit, pinpoint what time of day your energy level is at its peak: are you a morning person or a night person? Start each day’s A1 task, followed by A2 and A3, when you’re physically and mentally at your best. Save Cs and low Bs for lower-energy periods.

·        Begin or end (whichever works best for you) each day by reviewing and reprioritizing the list.

·        Enjoy increased productivity and success!

For more information:

·        How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life by Alan Lakein

·        The KISS Guide to Organizing Your Life by Donald Wetmore

·        The Productivity Institute (http://www.balancetime.com/)

www.stephencovey.com
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Katherine Swarts is a full-time freelance writer specializing in articles, for business newsletters and blogs as well as magazines. (Visit her Web site at www.spreadthewordcommercialwriting.com.) She lives in Houston, Texas. Her favorite spare-time activities are reading, bird-watching, attending community events, and writing Christian poetry (she maintains a devotional/poetry blog at www.newsongsfromtheheart.blogspot.com).

Short Hiatus

Hi There-

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm preparing for two product launches for each of my websites so my posts here on the blog will be on hiatus until around November 15th.

I will be back with a vengeance though!

Michelle
www.stressreliefbyrv.com

Fall Aroma Scents for Stress Relief

It's officially fall out here in the East and winter is not far behind.  If you are under the cooling temperatures, popular fall scents will be most enjoyable for you during the holidays.

Imagine the scents of: Peppermint, Orange Clove, Cranberry Fig or Mulling Spices filling your home during the Holidays. Browse Scented Soy Candles available.

100% Soy Wax Candles Scented with Essential Oils promote relaxation among a host of other benefits.

No artificial colors or preservatives

Free of Lead and Zinc - Healthier for You to Breathe in than Paraffin Candles


Read About The Benefits of Soy Wax Candles

An Easy Stress Reliever

Believe it or not there are many ways that you can alleviate your stress. Some require spending a little money on items to promote relaxation.  Other ways are simple and straight forward such as..........

Writing for Stress Relief

• Writing down your thoughts is a great way to release tension
• Plann your days by writing your To-do's: this keeps you focused and definitely relieves stress.  Don't multi-task, you get less done and are frazzled by end of day
  

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Take care of yourself: Michelle Howard offers you and effective line of stress and pain management products. Shop for stress or alternative pain relief products for your special need.

Combatting Negative Thoughts with Positive Words

Your mind is the battleground for faith or for defeat.  When you have a negative thought that causes pressure to be applied to your flesh (stress), do you just let that thought fester inside of your head?  Do you try to just ignore the thought?  There's a better and effective way to fight negative thoughts that eventually lead to stress and defeat.

Fighting negative thoughts that lead to stress with positive words is your only solution to defeating those bad thoughts.  For the Christian, we fight negative thoughts with the word of God. God's Word is powerful and sharper than even a two edged sword. It's alive, powerful and can defeat any negative thought that comes across your mind.  I've experienced this in my own life.

Besides, isn't it better to focus on words that speak life versus words that speak defeat, depression, debt, and death?  I was about to go on a roll with the bad "d" words but I think you get the picture.

The next time you have a bad, negative, stress inducing thought, open your mouth and speak against it -  preferably with God's Word. Don't allow negative thoughts to control your emotions which is then lead to making bad or negative decisions.
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Michelle is the true to life resource for satisfaction guaranteed stress and alternative pain relief products. Get on the path to wellness and SAVE when you purchase one of her already low cost Stress Relief Products with discount code: REVIVE.

"When life throws lemons, make lemonade!" - Unknown

Negative Words vs. Positive Words

Did you know that your negative words can talk you right into stress, depression or any other negative emotion?

The Bible says, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Proverbs 18:21

When you grumble, complain or murmur, you negatively affect your spirit, causing negative emotions to arise.  Those negative emotions will then eventually cause you to  make negative decisions and negative decisions will cause negative actions.

Watch the words that come out of your mouth, the negative words.  Just as you can birth negative results in your life by speaking negative words, you can birth positive results in your life by speaking positive words.

Monitor the words of your mouth for your desired outcome in  life.
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Michelle Smith can help you to relieve stress on a practical level. Sign up for her highly-acclaimed and miraculously free Stress Less Newsletter and be kept informed of alternative ways to reduce stress and ease pain without medication.

Ponder These Before You Allow Stress To Consume You

Stress is a very serious matter worth addressing head on.. I hope you have been informed, refreshed or enlightened some these past few weeks and I would love to hear from you.

I want to wrap up my mini-overview on stress with some powerful quotes to really get you thinking, "Is it worth it?"

"Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness."  *Richard Carlson

"Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important." *Natalie Goldberg

"Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one." *Dr. Hans Selye

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." *Bill Cosby

"Sometimes it is harder to deprive oneself of a pain than of a pleasure."  *F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Gray hair is God's graffiti." *Bill Cosby

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Michelle Howard Smith is a stress and pain relief professional helping individuals to address health from a natural perspective. Subscribe to The Stress Less newsletter to receive valuable information on stress and pain management monthly.

10 Ways to Identify Physical Stress

Stress brings with it a number of physical and emotional symptoms. Physical symptoms are your body reacting to the stress. Really, your body is in defense mode. Physical symptoms of stress include but certainly are not limited to:

  1. Upset stomach
  2. Unexplained indigestion
  3. Headaches, Back aches, shoulder pain
  4. Muscle Spasms
  5. Skipping monthly menstrual periods (women)
  6. Constipation
  7. Diarrhea
  8. Hyperventilation (shortness of breathe)
  9. A rash/rashes on the skin
10. Weight loss (including lack of eating)

The American Psychological Association reports, "One-third of Americans are living with extreme stress and nearly half of Americans (48 percent) believe that their stress has increased over the past five years."

What's Your State's Stress Level?

Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that us individuals are not the only ones to experience stress? On the contrary, whole counties, states and nations also experience stress and are susceptible to high stress levels.

Yahoo recently released results from Associated Press' Economic Stress Index. Scores are calculated from 1 to 100 for counties within a state and factors such as unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates have the biggest impact. Counties within a state are considered under high stress levels when its score exceeds 11.

I was quite interested in this due to the fact that I live in New York, working in New York City.  People always think that New York City is one of number one states with the highest stress levels.  Well, you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Previously Nevada (21.32), Michigan (17.59) and California (16.31) topped the list of the most economically stressed states.

The most stressed counties were Imperial County, Calif. (31.83); Yuma County, Ariz. (27.58); Merced County, California (24.28); Lyon County, Nevada (24.02); and Lauderdale, Tennessee (23.56).

The states with the biggest year-to-year increases in economic stress in August were Nevada, Oregon and Michigan.

Isn't that something?  Who would have thought that these states that you don't hear much from were higher in stress levels than the famously fast paced New York City.  That gives you something to think about.
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Michelle Howard Smith is President of Reviyve LLC, a distributor of stress and alternative pain relief products. Subscribe to the Stress Less Newsletter receive stress management tips, alternative health info and exclusive offers for subscribers only.

The Number One Reason People Get Stressed

The number one reason people get stressed out is money problems.  Financial problems are not the actual cause of stress but more the result of actions that led to the pressure behind the money  problems.

When a person mismanages their finances for whatever reason, that leads to money problems which then lead to stress. So the actual cause of the stress is not the money problems but the mismanagement of the money.

Read about ways to prevent stress.

3 U's that Cause Stress

It's hard to believe but the TRUE causes of stress are not what you read in the papers or what you hear in the doctor's office while laying down on his or her couch. If the causes of stress that you are used to hearing about were really the root causes, don't you think that you would have eliminated those causes by now?  Many people can't form into the words why stress is such a big problem.

Ok, so what are the causes of stress?

Summarized in three little words that begin with U (no, not YOU): Uncertainty, Unrealistic Expectations and Unresolved conflict.

That's it.  No, it's not money.  Money problems stem from one of the three U's.
Let me explain:

Uncertainty
The uncertainties of life will cause you stress if you allow yourself to worry about them continuously. Some things you can control. Others you can't.  With a firm faith in God and relationship with Him, you can be certain that He will take care of all of your needs.  You won't need to stress because you believe that God is your source and will supply of whatever need you have.

Unrealistic Expectations
Comparing yourself to someone else, what someone else has or what someone else can do is a major cause of stress.  You set unrealistic expectations when you do this because you can not  guarantee that your success, physical appearance, bank account or whatever will match that of what you are comparing yourself and ultimately your life to.  That's not to say that you should not set goals.  However, you must be content in the state that you are in before you can climb higher.

Unresolved Conflict
Holding on to unforgiveness or bitterness against another will causes unresolved conflict in your life.  This unresolved conflict will cause you stress because because it will affect your sleep, your thought life and your overall demeanor.  While you are replaying the offense or problem over and again in your head, that person is going on with their life or the situation remains unchanged.   Deal with any conflict in your life as soon as it arises, forgive and move on.

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Michelle Howard Smith is a stress and pain relief professional helping individuals to address health from a natural perspective.  Subscribe to The Stress Less newsletter to receive information on stress and pain like that in this post.

These Behaviors Identify Stress

In further examining stress and it's effects on life, it's important to identify certain behaviors that could potentially identify stress in your life:

1. A lack of concentration
2. Anger
3. Irritability
4. Insomnia / sleep disorders
5. Nervousness
6. Fear and phobias
7. Eating Disorders 
8. Erratic behavior (ex: crying for no reason)
9. Taking drugs, drinking, illicit sexual activity
10. Feelings of betrayal
11. Feeling ashamed
12. Guilty feelings
13. Loneliness
    

If you can identify with these behaviors that may indicate severe stress in your life, don't ignore them.  Seek professional help and look for ways to practically reduce stress in your life.  My Learning Center has a number of stress management articles available to help assist.

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Michelle Howard Smith is a stress and pain relief professional helping individuals to address health from a natural perspective. She distributes Young Living essential oils under distributor # 1066504. Subscribe to The Stress Less newsletter to receive information on stress and pain management.

Stress - Things to Consider

As a stress and alternative pain relief infopreneur, I thought it befitting to do a series on stress and pain relief.  I won't make each post very long, just long enough for you to digest the points and ponder them over until the next point.

Starting with the topic of stress, there are some things that you really need to know.  Some of them you may already know.  Others may be an eye opener or even a refresher.  In any case, if you are going to be successful at managing your stress levels or meeting stress head on by using some techniques I'll share down the line, then you must first be armed with guess what? INFORMATION.  Yippee my favorite word.

Let's get started.  What is Stress? 

A simplified yet very practical definition is: Stress is physical, chemical, or emotional pressure causing your body or mind to experience tension that may result in disease or illness.

Now that's a pretty serious definition.  Think about it for a while.  I'll be back in a couple of days to build upon it.

Pain and Stress are brothers

I started to say that pain and stress are sisters but hey I'm a woman. Why would I equate two such annoying and disturbing conditions with women? Nope. The men can have those titles (sorry fellas).

Anyway, I've been really busy for the last week or so. I've been promoting my beauty brand, Blended Naturals and also attended a beauty tour and blog summit. That's why I haven't had as much time to devote to writing here and dumping my brain with topics on stress and pain.

While I will say that stress has been a close companion this last week or so. It's mainly because I have so much to do with not enough time. I have to evaluate a number of beauty products and brands, write reviews and also work on my search engine optimization for my websites. I am a one woman show so some things have to wait.

What I wanted to give you today is more of a nugget to chew on and think about:

"If you stop to think, pain that is caused from an injury, illness or surgery can result in tremendous levels of stress. Even if all is well in your world, if you are in pain your mind and emotions can be overwhelmed. Stress and pain are brothers!"

Think about that. Mull it over and let me know your thoughts. I'll start writing more in the next week or so. I'd also like to know what topics you would like for me to write about. Share!

Detox Your Mind for Stress Relief

I'm off the organization kick and on the detox kick now. There are so many ways for you to find stress relief that I am going to share as many as I can find and share them with you.

Today I want to talk about detoxing your mind with aromatherapy for stress relief.

There are ten key therapeutic essential oils beneficial for detoxifying your mind:

Atlas Cedarwood
Chamomile
Eucalyptus
Geranium
Jasmine
Lavender
Lemon
Lime
Rose
Ylang-ylang

These therapeutic essential oils are very potent and can be administered for stress relief in 3 main ways:

• Diluted with a carrier oil such as almond oil followed by a full body massage
• Added to bath water for a relaxing soak that allows the oils to penetrate your skin, traveling through your bloodstream for natural wellness
• Added to steaming hot water for inhalation
  

In a few days I will talk about another way to help ease stress...Relaxing breathing techniques

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Michelle Howard Smith is a stress and pain relief professional helping individuals to address health from a natural perspective. She distributes Young Living essential oils under distributor # 1066504. Subscribe to The Stress Less newsletter to receive information on stress and pain management.

The Easiest Way to Organize Your Closet

Last week I started on this organizing kick to help avoid the stress of disorganization. One of the most stressful encounters can be when you get up in the morning and can't find a thing to wear! That's when you know it's either time to go shopping for a new wardrobe because you've outgrown the old one or maybe you just need to do some good ole closet organizing.

Let's say you have put on a little weight. That doesn't mean everything you have doesn't fit. However, it does mean you need to organize your closet and get rid of some things. Not only clothes either. Maybe your shoes and purses are no longer in fashion. You need to work through those as well.

First, to organize your closet start by working on different things at a time. Some will say you should empty out the entire closet but let's make it easier. Rather than empty it out and make a bigger mess, start with the floor. Pull out all those shoes, boxes, falling bags and whatever else may be hiding amongst the dust bunnies. Go through those items and dump or give away what's no longer fashionable, can't fit or damaged beyond repair.

Second, tackle your closet shelves one at a time. Backtracking a bit, if you don't have them already, pick up some plastic shoe boxes and/or hat boxes to help you organize items such as purses and hats! Yes, and of course other things that you have hidden away up in the top of your closet. You can hang your purses by size smallest first - if you have hooks

Lastly, it's time to go through your clothes. Pair up shirts, blazers, skirts and pants together that match. This way you won't have as much difficulty finding a complete outfit each morning. Another way is to put all the shirts together on one side of the closet, followed by the blazers, then the pants, then the skirts and dresses (assuming you wear them). It's all about your personal choice. Just make sure you give away or throw away anything you can't fit or haven't worn in at least 6 months. You probably won't ever wear them again.

Send clothing that needs to be repaired (if you still fit it), or cleaned to the cleaners and when you pick them up, always take the plastic off. The chemical residue picked up at the cleaners is not good for you to inhale.

Now, I want to hear from anyone else who has organizing tips. Organizing helps avoid stress. Of course, not major stress but hey. Address the things you can control. Don't just leave it up to fate. You'll have plenty of other things that you can't control. 'Toodles and til next time....

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Michelle Howard Smith is a stress and pain relief professional helping individuals to address health from a natural perspective. Subscribe to The Stress Less newsletter to receive information on stress and pain management.

Increase Energy and Improve Mood

A new all natural product that is supposed to increase energy and improve your mood is in pre-launch to be launched this weekend to the public. I came across this information in one of my professional groups on Linked-In.

For 1 week samples will be offered at http://www.StressFreeHomeBusiness.com. It has been reported that over 80% of participants are seeing results the very 1st week and over 95% the second week. I don't have the details on this but since the product is all natural perhaps you'd be interested in checking it out. If you are feeling Tired, Stressed, or Depressed visit http://www.StressFreeHomeBusiness.com today to sign up for the free trial.

For therapeutic stress relief products that are not ingested such as massagers, aromatherapy and alternative pain relievers, visit http://stressreliefbyrv.com

Why Go Green with Eco-Friendly Products?

Your decisions and actions affect not only yourself, but others. Many people are so focused on what they want and need that they forget the impact these decisions have on other people as well as other things.

Reducing your consumption and making "greener" choices with respect to your personal care, household and other items will not only help you, it will help protect our planet and reduce your negative impact (carbon footprint) on our environment.

Looking for a major source for your eco-friendly products? You have a number of greener eco-friendly choices for yourself and your business:

Organizing Ideas for Your Undergarments

For some reason I'm stuck on the whole clutter thing. I guess it's because clutter can cause undue stress. There are too many things in the world that cause stress that we can't control. You may as well work on the things you can control. That's why I'm going to continue offering organizing ideas that will help reduce clutter and ultimately your stress levels.

Today's post is especially for the ladies. I want to teach you in 4 simple steps how to organize your undergarments. Sounds fun right?

For starters, let me point out that when I say undergarments, I am referring to it all...your bras, panties, pantyhose, girdles, slips, and SEXY lingerie. Now let's get organized:

1. If it doesn't fit or is worn out, toss it. Maybe buy some more like the ones in the image (courtesy of Victoria's Secret)
   
   
2. Now, separate your undergarments by type. In other words panties with panties, bras with bras, handcuffs oops not that....all together.
   
   
3. Now fold your bras in half, tucking in the straps. Fold panties and other items tucking in corners and any hooks. We don't want any accidental snags.
   
   
4. Finally, assign each item type a drawer. If you don't have enough drawers then combine two item types that go together in one drawer. For example, add bras and panties to the same drawer or add slips and girdles to the same drawer. Tip: get a plastic divider to put in your drawers to help keep items organized and separate

So, now that we've organized our undergarments, let me think about what else needs organizing to reduce clutter. I'm thinking the junk drawer, closets, desks and you guessed it....pocket books! If you have any organizing ideas, please feel free to share.

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Michelle is President of Reviyve LLC, an online stress and alternative pain relief resource. Michelle conducts regular research related to alternative health and has helped many to achieve stress and natural pain relief. Subscribe to Michelle's monthly Stress Less newsletter for stress management and alternative health information.

Getting Rid of Clutter

Tinted Stacking Drawers from The Container Store

Clutter can be a big cause of stress. When things are out of order and can't be found, your schedule is thrown out of wack, your plans are put on hold and your ability to move from task to task is now delayed. Getting rid of clutter gets your life back on track.

I know when I accumulate clutter I start to feel overwhelmed and that eventually leads to stress! You know how sometimes you know what to do but neglect to do it anyway, then you have a ton of clutter? Well that's the story of my life! At least thus far. If you are a "hoarder" like me then you may be dealing with clutter too.

Getting rid of clutter is however a cycle that you may have to go through over and over before you get it right. You may not ever get it 100% right but getting rid of even 50% of your clutter and working towards clutter control is better than doing nothing at all.

Here are some things I recommend (some I actually do!) to get rid of clutter:

• Control clutter daily by addressing your incoming mail. Open, file, shred...immediately!
• Storage and more storage: Buy containers, storage boxes, plastic shoe boxes, file boxes..all the storage you need to be able to organize. The Container Store has a ton of neat stuff to help you organize.
  
• Schedule it - Add a monthly date to your calendar (preferably the weekend) when you can go through any clutter you managed to accumulate through out the month. If necessary, make it a weekly appointment
• Go through your cabinets on a monthly basis (add that to the schedule) and get rid of old food, supplies etc. Don't forget to clean out your junk drawer of old batteries, screws, nonworking pens, etc.
  

Finally, give yourself a break. Don't be too hard on yourself if you are a clutter bug. Keep at it and you will find that getting rid of clutter isn't so hard after all.

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Michelle is a full time working mother of three. She enjoys doing research related to alternative health and has helped many people to achieve natural pain relief. Subscribe to Michelle's monthly Stress Less newsletter for stress relief and alternative health information.

Know Your Headache

Headaches are big pain (no pun intended) for many people. There are tension headaches, migraine headaches, and cluster headaches. Many times headaches are the result of stress. However, sometimes there are underlying medical conditions that cause headaches.

Below is an excerpt from an article I read online at the Brigham and Women's Hospital website. It provides a comprehensive overview of what headaches are, the type of headaches, causes of headaches treatment and more:

What is a headache?

A headache is pain or discomfort in the head or face area. Headaches vary greatly in terms of pain location, pain intensity, and how frequently they occur. As a result of this variation, several categories of headache have been created by the International Headache Society (IHS) to more precisely define specific types of headaches.

What aches when you have a headache?

There are several areas in the head that can hurt when you have a headache, including the following:

• a network of nerves that extends over the scalp

• certain nerves in the face, mouth, and throat

• muscles of the head

• blood vessels found along the surface and at the base of the brain (these contain delicate nerve fibers)

The bones of the skull and tissues of the brain itself do not hurt because they do not have pain-sensitive nerve fibers. Read More

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Michelle Howard Smith is President of Reviyve LLC, a distributor of stress and alternative pain relief products. Subscribe to the Stress Less Newsletter to receive stress management tips, alternative health info and exclusive offers for subscribers only.

Melatonin: A Natural Insomnia Remedy

I thought I'd give you just one more natural insomnia remedy...just in case you need a little more powerful help.

If you are not sleeping well, consider going to your health food store and picking up some melatonin supplements.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by your body naturally and promotes sleep. If your melatonin levels are off, that may be the reason why you are having difficulty sleeping and experiencing insomnia.

Well, I hope the last week of natural insomnia remedies have helped. I don't want to ever recommend pharmaceutical drugs. It's always best to go the natural route and I'm confident that one of these natural insomnia remedies will help you.

Have A Blessed And Sleepy Evening!



Wondering what this is? click on it

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Michelle is a full time working mother of three. She enjoys doing research related to alternative health and has helped many people to achieve natural pain relief. Subscribe to Michelle's monthly Stress Less newsletter for stress relief information.

Insomnia Remedies Finally!

So how are we doing with sleep this week? I hope some of the natural insomnia remedies I've shared are helping. Here are the last few that you can try:

• Just before going to bed, try a little reading (I like the Bible...it always puts me to sleep...ok that didn't sound right but I meant it to be right). Turn off the tv and all other distractions. Electronics are stimulating so it's best to keep them out of the bedroom. Ok maybe not the tv but at least computers and video games.
  
  
• Pray. I don't believe in counting sheep. Those sheep would be dead by the time I fell asleep. Anyway, what better way to fall sound asleep than communing with the Creator of the Universe at the end of your day.
  
  
• Create a schedule for what time to go to bed and stick to it. I know it's easier said than done but if you stick to your sleep schedule, you will be training your body. Since your body needs approximately 8 hours of sleep (like that will ever happen!) to refuel for the next day, you should aim to get to bed no later than 10pm. Then again that depends on your day schedule. If you work at night, you will have to adjust to make sure you get your 8 hours.

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Michelle is a full time working mother of three. She enjoys doing research related to alternative health and has helped many people to achieve natural pain relief. Subscribe to Michelle's monthly Stress Less newsletter for additional stress relief information.

Natural Insomnia Remedies 2 More!

I hope all you insomnia sufferers out there are getting some sleep after my last two natural insomnia remedies. If not, here are two more you can try:

• Make sure your bedroom is the right temperature. If it's too warm then you won't be able to sleep well. It's written somewhere that your thermostat shouldn't be above 70 degrees in order to sleep well at night.
  
  
• Apply therapeutic grade Valerian essential oil to the soles of your feet. The Valerian root has been used for thousands of years for its calming, grounding, and emotionally balancing influences. (Purchase therapeutic grade oils either retail or wholesale at www.youngliving.org with distributor # 1066504)
  

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Michelle is a full time working mother of three. She enjoys doing research related to alternative health and has helped many people to achieve stress and pain relief. Subscribe to Michelle's monthly Stress Less newsletter

Natural Insomnia Remedies - 2

Not being able to sleep is really a bummer (for lack of a better word). You can't adequately function when you don't get enough rest. I have quite a few natural insomnia remedies to recommend to those who have insomnia and are having difficulty sleeping. For the sake of not reading your eyes off (since you are probably tired anyway), I'll offer two each day until you know them all. Here we go:

1. Avoid eating sweets before bedtime. Foods high in carbs can cause your blood sugar to spike and then crash. Having an up and down blood sugar party makes it difficult for you to sleep. If you must snack, do so with a small amount of lean protein and whole grains (ex: a turkey cold cut - without nitrates or nitrites in it, on a whole wheat cracker)
   
   
2. No Caffeine. This is nothing new but deserves to be reinforced. Caffeine can keep you up at night so have your last cup 4 hours ahead of time

Back in a few days with 2 more! Try these and let me know how they work.

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Michelle is a full time working mother of three. She enjoys doing research related to alternative health and has helped many people to achieve natural pain relief. Subscribe to Michelle's monthly Stress Less newsletter for stress relief information.

Get Out Of Debt Help Advice

When you are having money problems, not only does your credit suffer so does your peace of mind. I know. I got out of debt twice and stupidly got myself back in it. This caused a lot of tension in my home, especially with me and my husband. The worst part is when you get out of debt and get back in it, it's usually worst than before.

Having too much debt can cause undue stress and it's important to get it under control at the first sign of trouble.

Here's what NOT to do to get out of debt:

• Don't close your credit accounts. By all means cut up the cards but don't close the accounts or transfer the debt into one account. This will negatively affect your credit rating and score.
• Don't use home equity to pay off debt. You are putting your home at risk and you need to live somewhere while you are getting out of debt and even after you are out of debt.
  

Here is the number one option I recommend to help you get out of debt if you don't see any other way out and you can't make ends meet (been here done it and now my credit score is in the mid 700s):

• Consult a Credit counseling Agency. In many cases, they will set you up on a debt management plan and they can help get your creditors to lower your interest rates or payments. On top of that, you will only have to make one monthly payment that will be distributed amongst all of your creditors.

A word of caution: Before entering an agreement with any credit counseling agency, make sure they are members of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) or the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC). These two organizations regulate and monitor these credit counseling agencies to make sure they operate legally and are not taking advantage of those who are in debt looking for help.
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Michelle Howard Smith is President of Reviyve LLC, a distributor of stress and alternative pain relief products. Subscribe to the Stress Less Newsletter to receive stress management tips, alternative health info and exclusive offers for subscribers only.

Article Thieves!

You want to talk about stress, how about the fact that I just discovered that two different people stole original articles that I have written and not given me credit for it!

I contacted both websites and no response so i'm blowing them up right here as well as reporting them. I work too hard writing articles and dumping my brain every day onto paper for people to come along and claim my work.

So here the two lying article thieves have stolen my work and now they are so cowardly they don't even have the decency to reply.

I wrote an article entitled, "STRESS: Is It Your Silent Killer?" and I submitted a copy of it to Ezinearticles (http://ezinearticles.com/?STRESS---Is-it-Your-Silent-Killer?&id=1080550) in March of 2008. The article thief posted it on their blog at burnettconsult.com/stress-is-it-your-silent-killer.htm (and no i didn't create it as a link because why should I help their search engine rankings) word for freaking word! On top of it, he or she has no contact info. on their blog other than a comments form for each post. He/she has not responded to me. The original article is on my site at http://www.stressreliefbyrv.com/stress. You'll notice in the article that I post scriptures in the Bible and everything. I even talk about a situation where I at work and had a difficult time with a co-worker. This person probably doesn't even believe in God!

The other article I wrote, "Understanding Adult Acne and Hormones" was stolen from ezine articles (http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-Adult-Acne-and-Hormones&id=2637614) where I am credited as the author but it's posted on kissawayacne.com/2009/07/understanding-adult-acne-and-hormones as if they are the author. The original work (mine) is also on my site at http://www.deadseastorebyrv.com/adult_acne_and_hormones. I talk about how I got adult acne and didn't have it too much as a teen. Notice however that on the original article posted on my site, there is one little line at the very end that does not appear in the ezinearticles version or the thief's copy. It says "I suggest the latter." It's on my site because I'm the author!!!

I guess I shouldn 't be shocked since there are always going to be devious dishonest people in the world but I am. I am so pissed off I can't even begin to express. I have experienced some horrible people talking about me like a dog for the last few days and now this. I don't bother anybody and I keep to myself. Is it too much to ask for people to treat me the way I treat them???

Blogging is a great outlet for me to write but I certainly don't appreciate that all of my writing is being done to be stolen and profited by someone else. However, the Bible says that you will reap what you have sown so for all of the article thieves, back biters, liars and the like I say this: "You will have your day when you have to stand before the God of the universe to give an account for every evil deed and you WILL pay for everything you have done unless you repent.

That's all I have to say. I'm going to try and enjoy my weekend and I hope everyone reading does the same.

Share What You See Get A Free Ebook

What Do You See In This Image?

Share and the Most Thought Provoking Responder will receive my complimentary new e-book,
"Is Your Home Your Refuge or Is It Making You Sick"

Blue Tansy Therapeutic Essential Oil Blends

Woo it's been a busy week! I've been running around taking care of business for my two sons and boy has it been a handful. I am looking at new schools for my youngest one and there aren't many choices close to home for a little boy with cerebral palsy so... Then the oldest one has his issues but that's another story. I thought once they turned 21, my job was over NOT!

Anyway, our final essential oil for natural pain relief is Blue Tansy. Over the past few weeks I presented to you Frankincense, Basil, White Fir, Pine, Peppermint and Balsam Fir, each with unique properties to alleviate pain in various parts of the body. Today let's talk about Therapeutic Grade Blue Tansy Essential Oil.

Blue Tansy is a natural anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent and may be used to alleviate a number of painful ailments and diseases from sore muscles to rheumatoid arthritis. Blue Tansy can be used full strength or combined with a carrier oil for natural pain relief to ease aching muscles, musclur sprains, joint pain and even sciatica.

Young Living offers a number of therapeutic grade essential oil blends that contain blue tansy including Australian Blue, Peace & Calming, Release, Sara, and Valor. Here's a little about each:

Australian Blue™ is a powerful, exotic essential oil to with calming and stabilizing effects.

Peace & Calming™ is a gentle fragrance that promotes relaxation and when massaged on the bottoms of the feet can cause a wonderfully peaceful night's sleep.

Release™ may stimulate a sense of harmony and balance within the mind and body

SARA™ has a fragrance that stimulates relaxation and the ability to cope with painful memories

Valor™ helps balance electrical energies within the body and has also been found to help the body self-correct its balance and alignment.

Therapeutic grade essential oils for natural pain relief can be obtained from Young Living (shop with distributor # 1066504).

What Do You See July 29, 2008

What Do You See?

Do You See What I See?

The Person with The Most Interesting Response will receive a jar of Sooting, Relaxing Dead Sea Bath Salts formulated with Chammomille Essential Oils by Blended Naturals.

No replies and I just put it back in stock and sell it to one of my customers, who is really into achieving stress relief and relaxation.

Deadline: Midnight on August 1st, 2009

What Do You See Wednesday - July 22nd '09

What Do You See?

I will continue to add these abstract images until I get responses. I think this can be a useful exercise for getting to the root of stress.

Still Giving Away A Free Summer Care E-book for
the First Five to Respond

Frankincense for Arthritis Pain

Next on our 7 essential oils for pain relief is Frankincense. Frankincense is a well know essential oil referenced in the Bible. Frankincense was given to Christ (the Anointed One) at His birth. Frankincense oil is a very precious oil and was used by the Levitican priesthood and early Christian church as a holy anointing oil.

About Frankincense: Frankincense is a resin extracted from the bark of a boswellia tree which grows without soil out of polished marble rocks. The resin that oozes from trees and plants is either clear or translucent and has a yellowish or brownish substance. Frankincense resin is light yellow, and hardens quickly after being extracted from the tree. The frankincense globules are scraped off and distilled for the essential oil. It's medium strength balsamic aroma is a cross between spicy and fruity with a fresh woodiness to it.

Benefits of Frankincense: Frankincense has proven anti-inflammatory properties and can ease many aches and pains, clear the lungs (ie bronchitis), act as a skin tonic to revive aging skin, heal wounds and sores, reduce skin inflammation, as well as calm and soothe the whole body and mind.

Check out this clip from an article published in Science Daily:

"ScienceDaily (July 31, 2008) — An enriched extract of the 'Indian Frankincense' herb Boswellia serrata has been proven to reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy has shown that patients taking the herbal remedy showed significant improvement in as little as seven days."

This is a testament to the power of natural herbs used for combating sickness and providing alternative pain relief.

Frankincense can be diffused, used in a vaporizer, blended with massage oil, added as a lotion base, and diluted in bath water.

Therapeutic grade Frankincense can be obtained from Young Living (shop with distributor # 1066504). Young Living has chosen a vendor in northern Africa near the Arabian Peninsula as its primary source for frankincense. D. Gary Young has found the frankincense from northern Africa to be the truest form of Biblical frankincense.

Basil for Muscle Pain Relief

Happy Sunday...We're getting closer to winding up my presentation of the 7 essential oils for pain relief. So far I presented before you Peppermint, Pine, Balsim Fir, and White Fir. Today's featured oil is Basil.
A little bit of history about Basil: It's aroma is strong and spicy and helps to stimulate the sense of smell. Basil was initially most popular in India, Central and South East Asia and the European Union. Basil has made it's entry way in to the US and is popular for cooking with to season food.

Basil is a natural analgesic and therefore provides effective relief from pain for sore muscles. Basil can also be used to ease pain associated with arthritis and is good for soothing painfully uncomfortable insect bites. If you injury yourself or over exert your muscles, you'll discover that therapeutic grade basil essential oil will be one of your most comforting friends.

I have used Basil to cook with but isn't it amazing that the very items available to us from nature, have multiple purposes? Eat it or rub it on...Basil's good for ya!

Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils are available from Young Living with sponsor/distributor # 1066504. Young Living has the highest quality therapeutic essential oils available on the market.

Note: The Use of Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil is a MUST for maximum effectiveness. Basil essential oil is quite gentle so it does not have to be diluted to use. If pregnant or under a doctor's care, consult your physician. Do not use near fire, flame, heat or sparks.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

America's Best Hospitals

I came across a report conducted by US News featured on Yahoo that I thought was interesting to share about America's Hospitals. There are 174 hospitals that are ranked in one or more specialties, 21 qualified for be listed as one of America's Best Hospitals by earning high scores in at least six specialties.

Hospitals were ranked by giving 2 points if they were at or close to the top in a specialty and they were given 1 point if ranked slightly lower. Here are America's Best Hospitals for 2009-2010:

Rank	Hospital	Points	Specialties
1	Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore	30	15
2	Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.	28	15
3	Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles	26	15
4	Cleveland Clinic	26	13
5	Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston	25	13
6	New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell	24	13
7	University of California, San Francisco Medical Center	21	11
8	Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia	19	12
9	Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University, St. Louis	17	12
10	Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston	17	10
10	Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.	17	10
12	University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle	16	8
13	UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center	13	8
14	University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Ann Arbor	12	8
15	Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, Calif.	11	7
16	Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville	11	6
17	NYU Medical Center, New York	10	7
17	Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn.	10	7
19	Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York	9	7
20	Methodist Hospital, Houston	8	7
21	Ohio State University Hospital, Columbus	7	6