You Should Get Over it

Courtesy Flickr.com KaMa Photography

I'm up waaaay too early! Thoughts about being fired and why and who and why, why, why keep me awake.  Did I have a dream about it which spilled into my waking moments?



Courtesy Flickr.com Becky Striepe

My foot is killing me; broken? Noticing a gap on the right between toes that isn't matched on the left foot, I taped the toes together. It lessened the nerve pain, but it really hurts this morning; but not enough to drown out the emotional pain of rejection from a job I rocked at. Yes; I rocked it, but still got fired. Such a struggle with the inner voice that wants to find me at fault.




Courtesy Flickr.com Iqbal Osman

Thank God for the will to bring the voices of my mom, my friends, my champions, and my soul. The voice that calls me a phoenix. The voice that says, "Thank you so much for your help; what would I do without you!" The voice that says, "You will be okay; follow your passion." The voice that says, "You can do this. You SHOULD do this." Thank God for the "should"; because left to my would at this moment, I would find myself going through the routine of working for someone else who doesn't recognize how much I rock.



Courtesy Flickr.com Erica Zabowski

Why would I wish for the comfort of that monotony and dependence? Because it is easy. Because it requires no thought, no faith, no courage; it repays me with mediocrity, lack of passion, and bills being paid.

Thank GOD for the "should"(NEVER thought I'd say that!). I should push through and do what I need to do to make it work. I should also look at how I've pushed through every day, researching, organizing, and making positive strides. I should look at how much closer I get every day to making my passion into a business that will grow my soul and bring comfort to others in a HUGE way. I should keep going. I should keep pushing through.

I have decided that I should enroll in the UC Berkeley Extension program for Health Advocacy. I don't know how I'll pay for it. The first class is on August 8; only one day in San Francisco. Only $300.00 plus the expenses for travel and sleep.

I have decided that I should join the Association of Professional Health Advocates. I've decided that I should begin my business plan. I've decided that I should change the world by giving peace of mind to others, even when it feels in this moment that I don't know how to give peace of mind to myself. I've decided that today is another day that I will walk in possibilities and successes and destiny.




Courtesy Flickr.com Alex Proimos

As I look for pics for this blog I'm immediately rewarded with a smile.  My mom will appreciate the sleepless photo with the German thought bubbles! I think I get more pleasure out of finding pics for my blog than the writing itself. The writing is healing, but the art is fulfilling. Flickr.com is a great way to find pics that are free to use. Enter a search term, then click the pull down under licenses and choose "all creative commons."




Courtesy Flickr.com Walkin Boston

ANSWER  THIS: 

How do you advocate for yourself in moments of disappointment or despair? What do you tell your self? How do you get through it?

Learn is a Four Letter Word

This morning I am looking into educational programs for health advocacy. I feel that a certification will give me credibility as well as teach me, among other important things, what I don’t know about the professional side. One thing I discovered is that there is now national or international standard of knowledge or skills for health advocacy. A certificate only means that I completed their courses. Would completion of courses give me credibility?



Courtesy Flickr.com David Armano

Credible: believable. If I have a certificate of completion does that make me believable? It seems to me, as a consumer, the person with experience is the one I believe. In order to gain experience I need to be credible; a catch-22. If I use my certification as a status, I must also state who certified me; is it better that UC Berkeley or Stanford certified me than the University of Wisconsin?

 



Courtesy Flickr.com Juhan Sonin

It is advised to consider where I plan to earn my income, when choosing an educational program.  Do I want to work for someone else or myself?  My answer is, “both.” I want to be involved as a contractor for professional organizations, and I want my own practice.  However, with respect to education and how I want to be employed, it is a matter of whose skill set I need to comply with.

 As an independent advocate I need advocacy skills and business skills. I guess I already knew that; 3 weeks ago I started looking for a business coach.  I feel very good about my ability to look at the medical system from the patient perspective. But I already know there is a gap in my knowledge about efficiently getting desired results from the medical system. I found a list of master skills/services; this will help me find my advocacy gap. When it comes to business I completely lack confidence; this is the area I need to learn about most.



Courtesy Flickr.com Deslizate Naranja!

Accessibility is also an issue to consider. I love the motivation of being in a classroom, not to mention the networking opportunities that come with it. However, the “right” program with physical presence can be a challenge for me. If I had to move, what would happen to my home, my son, my pets, and how could I afford it? Additionally, if I choose the convenience and affordability of an online education, does that influence credibility?

 



Courtesy Flickr.com Soon Koon

One of the links I found led me to a book on starting an advocacy business.  Doh! Amazon!  One search and I found several books. If I buy the book through The APHA (Alliance of Professional Health Advocates), I can get a free month of membership. Their membership is only 50.00 per year and they have the best resources I’ve found so far. They have a series of four books and 2 are available on Amazon.  



Courtesy Flickr.com WalknBoston

I should wait to be sure before I start spending money; am I strong enough to self-govern or do I need the structure and accountability of a program? It comes, as usual, full circle back to “know thyself.”

 
Answer this: How do you like to learn? Self-taught with books and other media? Structured classroom? Online classroom?

ADOS...Attention Deficit OH SHINY!



Courtesy Flickr Cambodia4Kids

Today I am looking at the “job” of advocacy: what words are used to describe advocacy jobs, what are the qualifications, and what are the requirements.  In the process of looking at the gazillions (actually I got to page 5 of the job listings before being inspired to write) of available jobs in advocacy, I found that there are many organizations that provide advocacy for their own causes. Among these causes for advocacy there is a concentration on young people, homeless people, and voters.  There is a severe lack in my discovery today, in the area of providing resources and advocacy for individuals who do not fit a singular category.  The people I want to advocate for always fall into multiple categories.



Courtesey Flickr OEA-OAS 

People I have advocated for need whole-life-spectrum resources. The breast cancer patient who needs to know how to pay for medical care, also needs to know how to structure their finances to optimize their best position for financial support. The Alzheimer’s patient who needs to be protected from wandering, also needs support from the constant physical presence of multiple care givers; the caregivers also need support. The mental health patient who needs to protect their own rights in a crisis, also needs to protect the rights of their family members’ to participate in their medical and financial care.

Courtesy Flickr.com Wesley Fryer

Sure there is NAMI, and there are many associations concerned with Alzheimer’s and breast cancer. But I have yet to find an organization that is concerned with whole-life-advocacy, other than departments of social services which connect several different resources.  However, their system is complicated and often always, my clients need advocacy to negotiate that system. But I don’t want to be a social worker in the system of county social services and welfare; I want to make that system user friendly for my clients.

As I continue to look at advocacy from the perspective of educational requirements I see three avenues: law, sociology/medical licenses, and experience. I don’t want to do what is being done; I want to do what is not yet being done. I need to find a balance between understanding and supplying what others expect and what I want them to see.

I get to create my own requirements and I get to decide which education will be most supportive for my work.  However, I need to continue this avenue of research from the perspective of credibility.

 

ADOS (Attention Deficit OH SHINY!) ALERT

 

 

 

OMG, look what I found!

 

http://www.healthadvocateprograms.com/masterlist.htm. 

 

And look what else I found! http://www.aphadvocates.org/ 

 

And look what ELSE I found!  http://extension.berkeley.edu/spos/healthadvocacy.html

 

NOW I’m really excited!  UC Berkeley is my alma mater. The aphadvocates.org helps with business planning and supplies and financing! The masterlist includes educational programs, events, organizations, and more, more, more!  WOOOOOT!

In Organic We Trust

I just watched this documentary, In Organic We Trust; I'm all about making informed (from both sides of an issue) decisions. Based on the title and description, I expected the film to be the con side of the food issue; I know that "organic" does not mean "certified organic", just like "whole wheat" does not mean "100% whole wheat."

This film is inspiring! It was a well balanced documentary that touched on all my buttons, was incredibly informative and educational, and the whole point was about making informed decisions about food by being connected to how it grows, how it is industrialized, and how you can have the best food. Healthy should not be, and does not have to be, only for the wealthy!

This spring/summer is my third gardening year. Every year I learn something new. Gardening has all the emotional benefits of raising a child. My plants are my babies, and they will grow up to change the world. This movie inspires me to share, learn, and teach about my "children"; I think I'll start a new blog. Stay tuned for MonaRAEgrows (or something like that!)

Exorcising the Demons: The Act of Killing

The Act of Killing

This is what an exorcism really looks like. Adults who try to teach children that they should think about consequences and consider they might have regret, use their words as examples of what it feels like. This documentary shows, really shows, what regret looks like. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014) is a documentary that follows former Indonesian death squad leaders as they reenact their war crimes, the murders they committed. They reenact precisely how they captured, interrogated, and garroted their victims, the “communists”. This is THE most disturbing film I think I have ever seen; this is the BEST teaching tool I’ve ever seen for youth in terms of attitude and regret.

 

In this film we have the self-proclaimed “gangsters”, proud of being such and sanctioned by a huge para-military faction established by the coup rulers and still in existence today, the Pancasila Youth. The gangsters identify themselves as heroes, characterized and supported by the cinematic images of American films of their youth. They are given an opportunity to tell their story through any medium they wish and they choose to make a film. They expect to become famous; they already are famous and revered in their home land. This film shows the thought processes of mass murderers in reflection, from arrogance and self-aggrandizement to (for some but not all) pensive and remorseful…almost.

 

The synopsis on the film's web site could not sum it up better, however the potential for this film in middle and high school classes is unspoken and evident to me. This film has purpose. At a developmental stage where children appropriately depend on their peers, they do not have the experience of regret to teach each other and are destined to have regrets, some potentially deafening, unless they “get it”. This film can help students “get” the impact of decision making to the “nth” degree, and demonstrates the process of self-justification, and the consequences both globally and personally of harming others in both minor and life-determining ways. Fortunately, for those who “get it”, this film also demonstrates that one can exorcise their demons and survive. Whether the students are children or adults, this last benefit is the most crucial, and necessary lesson of this film.

Photo: Favim.com

 Because we are “merely” human beings, we go through life with menial and self-centered purpose. This film has the potential to elevate our thinking, and our behavior, outside our selves. This film shows the cultural values of people, the influences that create those values, and so important to the "western" citizens, the consequences of those values and the attainment of the materials that represent the values; the things we hold to represent our status….the symbols that say “I made it!” This film is about the consequences of greed; it is the justification for being inhuman and inhumane.



Photo: TheGermansMakeGoodStuff Quote: George Orwell, Animal Farm

This is THE most disturbing film I can remember ever seeing (other than The Exorcist.) This is the most important film I’ve seen. This film is not as romantic as our idea of an exorcism might actually look like, but it is the only real exorcism I’ve seen portrayed. You must watch through to “get it”, but like any good film the cliff hanger at the end leaves you wanting more, and in this case wondering “Did he really get it?”, and hoping he does, and hoping I will get it too, when I exercise my own demons.

What are you Hungry for?

I want to create a curriculum for youth and teens through Hungry For Change Mastery Program. I want to use crowd sourcing to fund the curriculum. I want to go to schools, I want to train teachers, I want to create a research study for the effectiveness, I want to see and address obstacles to changing habits and mindset for these age groups.

Awakened at 4:30 a.m., for the 3rd or 4th time tonight, I decided to stay up. I tuned into Netflix and among the choices recommended specifically for me was yet another "food" movie; "Oh well." I decided to numb myself with yet another documentary. So glad I did!

I could worry that all these documentaries I watch continue to inspire me, but in a precarious direction toward too many interests and not enough focus and even less action. Wow, did I just say that? I just defined, literally, what keeps me from feeling satisfied in life: the sense of too much, while craving abundance, and feeling overwhelmed to the point where NOTHING happens. But there is a difference these days; I'm focused on recognizing my feelings...I'm finally looking at myself with the same ease of sight that I have with other people.

AJ Matharu

With others I am empathic; it's almost funny how that thought comes up A LOT in the last few days. With the last paragraph, I now realize that I can be empathic with myself! And THAT is the point of the very end of Hungry for Change: You have to love yourself. So cliche, right? As a matter of fact, so much of this movie is seemingly cliche, but as with all truths in life, they are cliche until they are finally seen as truthful and real. My immediate thought after that realization is, "How much of this did I already know, for how long did I know it, and how different my life could have been if I'd accepted it back then!?!" Then of course, I think of my son and need him to see it now, to avoid the "not knowing" of it, and the lessons that lead us to acceptance of the cliche.

So, my blocks to taking the lessons of Hungry for Change into life's reality, revolve around abundance. I don't have enough money to buy whole foods and vegetables, I don't have a juicer, I don't have enough knowledge to make it work, I don't want to give up carbs like bread, pasta, and cookies, I don't have the discipline, I don't really have the mind set I need if I'm thinking that it takes discipline.

RobotRoom.com

One of the biggest aha moments of the movie, with the deepest meaning, is that the body's response to life is inflammation and protection through the creation of mucus and fat. Another aha moment was the discussion that when we change our mindset of adding to our diet instead of taking away, things occur naturally. Another aha...visualization is the way we communicate with our brain, not with words of language. To sum it up, this movie tells you what you already know, in a way that helps you accept it and desire to implement it because it motivates you to stop doing the damage to yourself, your psyche and ego, that results in more self loathing and more symptoms of it. You ARE your worst critic and enemy, but it doesn't have to be difficult or painful to flip that switch to "forward".

Abundant Goddess Event

So moving forward, I want to feel safe, I want to love myself, I want to feel like there is enough, I want to feel "Plentiful", I want to feel "Abundant", I want to feel "Activated". I think I'll talk to my friend from Real Raw and Rowdy, Amy Elias, about foods and how to keep the carbohydrate foods in a healthy way. I'm also going onto Free Cycle to request a juicer. I'm also going to start a wish list for this spring's garden. I'm also going to do a mind map for my curriculum idea. And, finally, I'm going to see if an idea I have for my website will work.

Today is Sunday, people! Love yourself, as you love your God...you ARE God! Oh, so you want proof? Here it is....

Eskimo Nebula, Universe Today

Yesterday I thought randomly of my friend Jo; I've never met Jo in person but there is a spiritual connection between us that has continued online for about 3 or 4 years. This morning I watched Hungry for Change to immense effect. As soon as I'm done writing about it in this blog, Jo PMs me (it's only 6:30 and the Sun still isn't up). Jo and I talk about her grand daughter, I talked about Hungry for Change as a suggestion for some relief for her grand daughter, and she introduces me to a friend of her's, Linda the HealthAngel weight coach, and would I be interested in checking out a free seminar/program online that her friend is starting today that is all around health and disease resistance/correction through nutrition. How GODLIKE is that?!

So Hum (I am)

I'm an Addict; so are you!

Wow! Posting two days in a row! My plan was to watch a documentary and then take pictures of my jewelry and beads. I'll get back on track, but first I feel it is my duty to share the documentary with you.

A Crude Awakening: the Oil Crash (click the link to watch for free; watch carefully and thoughtfully, over a period of days if that's what you need, but watch and listen and THINK.) "Through expert interviews, this documentary examnes the world's dependency on oil and the chaos that's sure to follow when the resource runs dry." (2006.) 

 A topic like this is often overwhelming because it is immediately apparent that the problem is global, and immediately daunting and inconceivable that as individuals we can make a difference. I know we can; I know we must believe we can make a difference. The key is to understand that we must make a choice now, and we must make a difference in our own life; local scale and time WILL make a difference globally.

Solar Energy in India

The only natural resource that produces the amount of energy that we now receive is solar energy. It is also the only natural resource that can meet the demands projected for the future based on current growth of population and industry. However, the technology on the global scale is not advanced enough to put it effectively in place ON TIME. That is the key; time. 

The Economist

We are not out of oil, but we are using more oil than we have reserves for. The wars are about oil; do you want to live in a world that insists on taking energy by force? That is one of two choices we can make. The other choice is to understand the other key; scale. 

If we try to address the issues of energy demand-versus-supply on a global scale, we start at a losing position; the second choice we have is to address the situation on a personal scale. Look at personal use of oil; then look at how personal use of oil can be replaced. 

Texas Tribune

No, I do not pay directly for the oil used to deliver groceries to my dinner table, but when I understand that I certainly contribute, I can see that if I grow my own vegetables, my contribution to the use of oil energy is greatly reduced. I can also see that if everyone in my town did the same, the impact on my community would be huge, huge, huge. 

Deanna Smith's Blog

It is exciting to think I might convince everyone in my town to grow a vegetable garden, to raise their own beef and poultry, to fish from the rivers, and hunt the land. That last one poses many problems on its own, but if we would just start with gardens. 

Crazy Jungle Blog

We also need to start with our children. Teach them to think not of their personal gain in the future, but rather their personal contribution. We do that already, sorta’. We teach the kids to do a community project in order to graduate high school and in order to have a better application for college, but it is all to their own personal gain in the end. 

We say our kids are our future, but we teach them to fend only for themselves and to aim for a personal goal that will give them financial stability and excess, to compete against each other, and to fear having no money. It is not too late to give that effort a tweak. 

I will talk to my son about this. We recently had a conversation about politics and Monsanto and independence in crisis. My son’s question was, “How can we make a difference? What should we do?” At the time I said, “Stay local; buy local; grow local; vote local.” Now I will expand that answer;  Make a difference by providing a way to use energy locally in a different way. 

I’m going to ask my son to focus not on becoming wealthy but to focus on energy, ingenuity, and teaching locally how to be independent and harness local sources. I’m going to look at how to harness solar energy on my own; I’m going to look at the Tesla Coil; I’m going to look at the efficiency of producing energy and reducing oil dependence.  Just look at all the things I CAN do!!

The Dullum File

And I’m going to vote for politicians who tell the truth. How will I know it’s the truth? I’ll know it is the truth when they tell me the bad news rather than the good; when they tell me it will be hard rather than to be hopeful; when they tell me what it will take to change rather than simply a desire to make a change. I CAN handle the truth.