Archive for December, 2011
Praying away the cookies
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My most recent piece has been posted at CNN-Belief. Please check it out!
(CNN) – With Christmas cookies, fruitcake and eggnog tempting us at every corner, it is hard not to gain weight during the holiday season. Yet it is not just holiday foods that are enticing.
Oversized and disproportionate – that about sums it up when the average American is 20 pounds overweight. The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said, “Obesity, and with it diabetes, are the only major health problems that are getting worse in this country, and they are getting worse rapidly.”
Personally, I have been fortunate never to have had much of a problem with my weight. I was an active, slender, Texas kid. Our family didn’t have a television until Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, so my brothers and I spent countless hours playing outside. I always ran like a jack rabbit, especially after jumping the fence at our neighborhood riding stable. … read more
Find Keith on Twitter: @TexasCS
Related post: Health Benefits of Mistletoe?
Health Benefits of Mistletoe?
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The National Institutes of Health reports that 40 percent of Americans are actively seeking alternative approaches to health. Since this is the time of year that mistletoe begins popping up, I decided to look into any possible health benefits to this potential alternative.
After some investigating, I found that there is no measurable evidence to support claims of a healing effect or improved quality of life from the use of mistletoe extract. So, forget the mistletoe, perhaps, kissing is the key to better health.
It’s been reported that those who kiss their partner goodbye each morning live five years longer than those who don’t. Frequent kissing has scientifically been shown to stabilize cardiovascular activity, as well as decrease blood pressure and cholesterol. Is this why kissing under the mistletoe has been going on for decades? Read More→
Spirituality -> better mental health
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Kirsten Dunst (Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images)
While promoting her role in the new Lars von Trier film, Melancholia, Kirsten Dunst recently revealed that she has experienced depression. In the film, Dunst plays the role of a woman named Justine who suffers severe mental illness.
Dunst’s admission is yet another celebrity disclosure. Carrie Fisher, Angelina Jolie, and Christina Ricci have all shared similar stories. Yet, there is hope for these women and for everyone.
Weeks ago, while in Durham, North Carolina, I attended a news briefing where the Wave III Baylor Religion Survey was unveiled. The survey confirmed what I have been discovering: Improved mental health is found through greater spiritual awareness. Read More→
Is there an antidote for (hate) mental poison?
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Everyone seems to have a chip on his or her shoulder. From the Occupy Wall Street protesters to the Obama-haters, aggression is in the air. Hate appears to be the flavor of the day.
This hate is causing an accelerated polarization of society. But it is causing something more. Are we hearing the warnings that hostile hearts can jeopardize health? Besides straining relationships, hate is a mental poison that causes bodily harm.
Deborah Smith, staff writer for Monitor on Psychology (a publication for the American Psychological Association), in her post Angry thoughts, at-risk hearts, writes “Research findings indicate a clear pattern — being an angry or hostile person is bad for your heart.” She goes on to cite several studies that prove the point.
It’s my experience as a Christian healer that hateful thoughts can be harmful not only to the heart but to every part of the body. Therefore, if hate is a poison, what is the antidote? Read More→
