Diego Sanchez has cut his professional ties with Joshua Fabia. Sanchez has also announced that hes set to put forth a statement next week and that he requires time to collect his thoughts before talking to the media.

According to MMA Fighting, in a revelation made by Diego Sanchez to them on Thursday (May 20th, 2021), Sanchez is no longer in a professional relationship with Joshua Fabia. Sanchez has confirmed that Fabia is no longer his manager, coach or guru.

As of this time, Diego Sanchez hasnt provided any further details or comments on his split from Joshua Fabia. Charles Lakins, who is Sanchezs attorney, revealed that the decision was made on Thursday (May 20th, 2021). Lakins has reiterated that Sanchez has ended his business relationship with Fabia.

Charles Lakins has now stated:

As of this writing, Joshua Fabia is yet to address his sudden split from Diego Sanchez. The MMA legend started working with Fabia back in 2019 in the lead-up to his UFC 235 (March 2019) fight against Mickey Gall.

Diego Sanchez defeated Gall via second-round TKO. This proved to be Sanchez's final clear-cut win inside the octagon. Sanchez went 1-2 in his next three fights, with his sole win coming by way of DQ (disqualification). Sanchezs most recent fight was a unanimous decision loss against Jake Matthews at UFC 253 (September 2020).

While many in the MMA community have expressed their surprise over Diego Sanchez parting ways with Joshua Fabia, some believe the split had likely been on the cards for the past few days.

As reported by MMA Fighting, Diego Sanchez recently revealed that he had reestablished contact with the UFC. Sanchez noted that hes also decided to go ahead and participate in the Professional Athletes Brain Health study. This study is partly funded by the UFC.

Furthermore, Diego Sanchez has emphasized that he will stay loyal to Joshua Fabia, as the latter has helped him out and done a number of good things for Sanchez during their time together.

Joshua Fabia, a self-proclaimed healer, is the founder of the School of Self Awareness. Fabia is regarded as more of a lifestyle coach than an MMA coach and was strongly criticized after footage recently emerged of his controversial upside-down training routine wherein he was seen hitting Diego Sanchez.

Diego Sanchez was set to fight Donald Cowboy Cerrone in a bout billed as a retirement fight at UFC Vegas 26 (May 8th, 2021). This was supposed to be Sanchezs final fight, the end of his legendary career. However, Joshua Fabia was involved in multiple clashes with the UFC brass in the buildup to this fight, eventually leading to Sanchezs departure from the UFC.

One of the clashes witnessed Fabia secretly record a conversation wih UFC execs Sean Shelby and Hunter Campbell. Sanchez and Fabia demanded Sanchezs complete medical history from the UFC.

Campbell subsequently inquired whether all was well with Diego Sanchez and requested Sanchez to confirm that he isnt suffering from any health issues. Sanchez responded via his attorney, Charles Lakins, but refused to confirm or deny any purported health issues.

The UFC resultantly released Diego Sanchez. This was followed by Sanchez and Fabia putting out a few accusations against the UFC. Nevertheless, as noted, Sanchez recently reconnected with the UFC. Regardless, the consensus is that while The Nightmare will participate in the Professional Athletes Brain Health study, hes unlikely to ever fight in the UFC again.

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Diego Sanchez has cut his professional ties with Joshua Fabia, announces that a statement will follow - Sportskeeda

Ive noticed some patterns in business owner decision-making behaviors over the years. Most of us tend to fall into more than one group. Among other things, were number crunchers, marketers, procrastinators, and magicians. Develop some self-awareness about which one of these groups you belong to. The more we know about ourselves, the better.

These folks track and (often) know every metric about their business. Sometimes thats good. Sometimes, it isnt. Dont focus on metrics to the exclusion of other important work. Its important to know your metrics, but having too many can fog your vision. Theres lead cost, lifetime customer value, ARR, MRR, conversion rate, traffic, net promoter score, and so on

Which do you focus on? If your company is large enough to have departments, each likely has a most important metric. How many are there?

While Im a number cruncher (among other things), metrics arent everything. Theyre a tool whose importance gains clarity when I travel.

The road strips away metrics FOMO because you can only handle so much while traveling. While I can have everything when Im at my desk, I dont NEED (or use) everything. On the road, I seldom need much more than OK vs Not OK.

Can you boil down your most important 37 metrics to OK vs Not OK?

Yes, most important 37 metrics was sarcasm, but you may have that many. You cant focus on the most important work of the day AND keep your finger on the 37 heartbeats. Theres a time and a place for each metric, but it isnt every day.

As my friend Tim Francis says, You need only enough precision to make the right decision.

Marketers tend to be number crunchers. We use LTV, CAC, and other metrics to make decisions & determine how were doing. We sometimes focus so hard on marketing that we forget everything else. Marketing metrics often drive mindset, even when theres little profit. More than once, Ive heard, Theres so much gross, there has to be some net somewhere. Pro tip: Know where the net is.

Jim Collins talks about making a decision as early as possible when known risks are stable. When the risk changes in severity or nature, review your decision.

Procrastinators view risks from a different angle. Making a decision as late as possible is one way to manage risk. It also increases cognitive load much longer than necessary. For decisions with little risk or little change in risk, procrastination has a cost. Sometimes the cost is that you arent ready for rapid change.

Some make decisions so fast that it appears they didnt care. What you dont often see is information gathering / review over time. One remaining piece of information may trigger their decision its the final piece of the puzzle.

Almost everything magicians touch seems to turn to gold, even if it takes years. Many dont appear to be working at all often because they enjoy their work and the people involved. Theyre often skilled decision makers.

The best decision makers have a process & guidelines. Ask and dig in thats where the gold lies. They often have a refined process for decision making, but refined doesnt mean slow. Make decisions as soon as possible, but not too soon, and dont look back. Focus on making your decision pay off unless changing conditions force a review.

After 14 years, this is my last column for the Beacon. I hope at least one of these 728 columns has helped you, your business, your team, and your customers.

Three things drove what I wrote about each week: 1) Whatever pushed my buttons, 2) A lesson (re)learned by me or someone I know, 3) Something reminded me that we all need occasional reminders.

If youre an employer, remember that your most important people are your employees. Theyre the ones who take care of your other most important people your customers.

If youre an employee, consider a side hustle. It might grow well beyond that. It might become your new role at your current employer. Almost everyone starts small. You have to believe, even when no one else does.

Thank you Liz Marchi and Kellyn Brown. Its been a fun ride.

PS: Skinner, you win.

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Decision Making And The Last Word - Flathead Beacon

I was saddened to hear of the recent and unexpected passing of the city of Hugos longtime finance director, Ron Otkin. I met Ron in 1989 when he first came to the city; at the time, I was a volunteer on the Planning Commission. Our paths crossed far more often when I served on the City Council.

Ron was passionate about his job, and it showed. I knew nothing about city finances when I first began contributing to Hugos budget planning decisions, but Ron was, first and foremost, a good communicator. He made it a priority to educate all of us in financial matters. His annual budget PowerPoint presentations were crystal clear. His aim was to help the city of Hugo keep its taxes low, set attainable financial goals, take care of its assets in a responsible way and be well prepared for the growth that we knew would come. I learned so much from him.

Years later, when I began writing about city budgets in Centerville, Hugo and Lino Lakes for The Citizen newspaper and, later, Press Publications, Ron was always ready to help and answer my questions in a timely way so that I could make my press deadlines. He believed that a citys financial reports should be able to be understood by everyone. Over the years, I attended hundreds of city council meetings in Anoka, Ramsey, and Washington counties involving budgets, taxes, bond sales and assessments. Rons presentations were always the easiest to understand.

Because of Rons passion for excellence, the city of Hugo was recognized year after year for its excellence in financial reporting. There was a running joke at City Hall that the city would have to reinforce the walls in the finance directors office to accommodate the weight of the accumulating plaques. He and his team deserved every one of them.

Ron will be greatly missed.

Schools need to promotesocial-emotional learning

I am currently a school social worker in White Bear Lake Area Schools and wanted to bring to everyone's attention the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL). The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) describes SEL as "the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL core competencies consist of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.

Schools need to promote SEL instruction within a school, as SEL skills promote and enhance students through increased school connections, positive behaviors and academic achievement and so much more. CASEL discovered SEL has a positive impact on students' academics because students received an 11 percentile point gain in academic achievement compared to peers who did not receive SEL programming.

SEL instruction has proven to have many long-term as well as short-term impacts. For example, schools that have implemented SEL have increased educational milestones being achieved along with increasing high school and college graduation rates. Additionally, research shows that "SEL programming can have a positive impact up to 18 years later on academics, conduct problems, emotional distress and drug use. Short-term, SEL helps decrease negative behaviors in the classrooms through the development of skills that help students better manage their emotions. SEL helps decrease bullying and increases friendship and relationship skills.

As a school social worker, I have seen firsthand some of the amazing work that teachers and buildings are doing to promote and incorporate SEL into their schools and classrooms. I believe this is a significant first step to providing students with more holistic support that aims to expand beyond academic growth to increase social-emotional well-being. To increase SEL implementation, there is a need to further an awareness of SEL by school districts, students, families and community members, as well as why it is essential to teach, as it helps students be more successful and strengthens communities.

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Letters to the Editor | Letters To The Editor - Burnett County Sentinel

by Morgan Mentzer and Deaunte Damper

President Joe Bidens multiple restructure plans focus significantly on building and creating new infrastructure, training trades workers, and supporting labor unions. However, without a cultural reckoning for the trades that addresses the toxic workplace culture permeating much of the industry and preventing nontraditional workers from entering or remaining in the trades, the restructure plan will further exacerbate the racial and gender disparities. Bidens ambitious plans lean on the trades to address the economic impacts of COVID-19, the significant unemployment and the subsequent lack of health insurance.

However, the trades are rife with racism, toxic masculinity, and stagnant representation. For the restructure plans to succeed, the trades must address the toxic workplace culture to move the trades toward safety, inclusion, and not just cultural competence but cultural humility. Without safety, inclusion and humility, the restructure plan will further exacerbate the racialized inequality mirrored across Americas history and contemporary policies. ANEW and Reckoning Trade Project have an answer, and the compass to continue to guide. It starts with cultural humility.

At the Reckoning Trade Project, an organization committed to increasing representation and retention of LGBTQ trades workers, we recognize that the prospect of entering the trades for many LGBTQ folks is entirely too dangerous. We are working together with Apprenticeship & Nontraditional Employment for Women (ANEW) to address toxic workplace cultures in the trades.

By cultural humility we mean the self-awareness of personal and cultural biases, as well as awareness and sensitivity to significant cultural issues of others. The trades and unions have both facilitated social change and perpetrated injustice based on race and gender, and leadership in the trades and unions are majorly white, cisgendered men. The culture of the trades is entrenched in misogyny, racism, transphobia, and homophobia and does not provide for safety and inclusion and remains a dangerous and unappealing avenue for many nontraditional workers.

LGBTQ trades workers face increased rates of violence and discrimination in the trades. Worker complaints about harassment and bullying must be taken seriously, and perpetrators must be fired; there must be representation of LGBTQ trades workers in upper management, affinity groups to address ongoing harassment, and safe spaces for all LGBTQIA community members. Studies show that anywhere from 15% to 43% of queer people have experienced some form of discrimination and harassment at the workplace. Moreover, a staggering 90% of transgender workers report some form of harassment or mistreatment on the job. These workplace abuses pose a real and immediate threat to the economic security of gay and transgender workers.

For the trades to remain as relevant and critical, recognition of this history, and contemporary culture is required. Worker demographics are shifting, and the trades will have to adapt. In 2042, whites will be the minority, while currently over 9.5% of youths identify as LGBTQ. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects better-than-average employment in the building trades through 2026. Furthermore, the most in-demand skilled trade jobs are remaining unfilled the longest due to a shortage of qualified workers. We need a new blueprint.

With Pride month rapidly approaching, before the flag raising, WE as all community members need to focus on calls to action safety, inclusion.

I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act. It is an act that can be met with hostility, exclusion, and violence. It can also lead to love, understanding, transcendence, and community. I hope that my being real with you will help empower you to step into who you are and encourage you to share yourself with those around you.

Apprenticeships & Nontraditional Employment for Women was founded in 1980. ANEW improves peoples lives by providing quality training, employment navigation and supportive services leading to successful family wage careers.

RISE Up (Respect, Inclusion, Safety, and Equity in the Construction Trades) is a Respectful Workplace Campaign designed to shift the culture of construction to be more inclusive to a diverse workforce. This campaign is designed to be used by public entities, construction companies, apprenticeship training programs, unions and community-based organizations.

Reckoning Trade Project was founded in 2018 by a former auto mechanic, and a welder. The Reckoning Trade Project (RTP) works toward creating safer and more equitable workplaces and increasing job retention in the trades by building support systems, hosting educational forums, and organizing social events with a focus on LGBTQ+, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and other nontraditional trades workers.

ANEW and RTP are centering LGBTQ+ trade workers; we have created an affinity group specifically for LGBTQ+ trade workers. A first of its kind, this group creates a safe space for nontraditional trade workers across the trades to address workplace discrimination and violence and promote solidarity for those who are often isolated from other nontraditional trade workers and management. The affinity group will provide trade workers opportunities to engage, learn and develop policies and practices that can be implemented across the trades, and promote representation in leadership across the trades. Nontraditional trade workers need to be centered in the fight for equity and the restructure plan.

This is a call to action to the traditional trade workers who think that pronouns are just an option, who see us just as the alphabet people, who constantly jeopardize the safety of LGBTQ+ workers, and who fail to recognize their own privilege and complicity in the toxic trades culture. ANEW and RTP collaborate on workplace trainings around safety, inclusion, gender identity, and racism. Both organizations can be hired to provide trainings that address workplace harassment.

Morgan Mentzer (she/her) co-founded the Lavender Rights Project, a by-and-for legal services and community organizing nonprofit. As a lead attorney, Morgan specializes in employment law and family law focusing on intersections of gender identity and racism. Prior to pursuing a career in law, Morgan was an auto mechanic. Rooted in the trades, she is the co-founder of the Reckoning Trade Project, an organization committed to increasing representation and retention of QTIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) trades workers.

Deaunte Damper (moderator) born in Seattle, has focused his work on bringing HIV awareness and LGBTQ-affirming education to marginalized communities throughout the City of Seattle. This started through his nonprofit work at POCAAN as a peer navigator for the Department of Health. In April 2019, Damper made history as the NAACPS first LGBTQIA chair, the first in 110 years of the organization. In October 2019, Damper began as a transitional specialist for the Washington State Department of Corrections. And as of November 2019, he is Rainier Beach High Schools Black Student Union advisor. He also started a support group for Young Men of Color, B.R.O.T.H.A (Blacks Recovering Overcoming Trauma Health and Awareness). Deaunte was recently named the incoming board chair for Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County as of 2021 Damper is currently working as the new apprenticeship navigator for ANEW.

Featured image is attributed to Ivan Radic (under a Creative Commons, CC BY 2.0 license).

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OPINION: LGBTQ Pride Must Extend to the Trades - southseattleemerald.com

Deepak Chopra explains that in one way or another, we all express qualities of the divine feminine. (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

One feels a change in the wind that has been a long time coming. There has been an awakening that has brought on a call to attain and embrace social equity and justice. The fault lines are related to race, socioeconomics and gender. This change we sense around us is brought on by a rise in embracing feminine energy, a potent energy that goes beyond political and social factors. There is something deeply spiritual stirring.

Lets approach feminine energy as a universal quality in consciousness. This quality is divine and has been part of every spiritual tradition, yet each generation has to reinterpret it. At the moment, embedded in a secular society where daily demands and distractions are the rule, connecting with the divine feminine requires going deeper into our self-awareness.

Awakening to the divine feminine

Beyond constructs of gender, everyones source is pure awareness. When pure awareness manifests into creation, gender isnt in evidence, nor are many of the labels we take on in our physical manifestation. When you wake up from deep sleep and become aware of your existence, the experience has no labels. The division between masculine and feminine enters in a social context, defined by the beliefs, attitudes, and mental conditioning of yourself and the world around you. To be confined in a solely binary experience of gender is a creation of many factors, going far beyond the physiological.

The divine feminine isnt to be confused with gender or restricted to women because in reality, the divine feminine is part of everyones wholeness. When we divide all human experiences into the narrow categories of women and men, we lose the opportunity to access wholeness. In order to truly love all people, and for them to love themselves, we each must nurture the universal values that belong to the divine feminine. Every human quality that we cherish has a pure source, and the closer you are to the source, the more intense, personal and lasting your values will be.

Story continues

Exploring the healing qualities within

What does the divine feminine add to everyones life? In one way or another, we all express qualities of the divine feminine. Whenever there is nurturing, devotional, compassionate, loving, intuitive or reflective energy the divine feminine is present. You might feel yourself resisting the expression of certain qualities to meet social approval because we have all been conditioned to do so.

When the feminine energy is ignored or wounded the same values that this energy carries are lost. In their absence a presence of qualities associated with masculine energy takes form. Forceful, overly competitive, controlling, domineeringthese attributes are exaggerated and far removed from wholeness. Society tells us that these energies are either/or, and we are made to feel uncomfortable expressing ourselves as we truly are a union of all.

On the individual level, the loss of the divine feminine can be devastating. There is an imbalance toward the masculine, which no one can sustain without damaging their capacity for loving acceptance, beginning with self-acceptance. I doubt there is anyone who cant benefit from healing the wounded feminine energy within. We regain wholeness in meditation, but it is in applying self-awareness in daily life that healing steps can be taken.

Restoring wholenesss

Take a moment every day and look through these qualities associated with the feminine energy Ive listed here: nurturing, caretaking, devotional, compassionate, intuitive, receptive. Think of one value youd like to encourage and enhance, then make a mental note of the action youll take that day to implement it. At night before you go to bed, reflect on your day to see if you carried out the action you planned. If so, how did it make you feel?

Here are some suggestions about how you might carry out healing the feminine side of wholeness:

Nurturingisabout all the things a parent does to raise their child, and we often identify it with helping the young. But adults also need support, encouragement, protection from harm and wise guidance. These are nurturing values too often neglected in our relationships. We forget that the child within us hasnt vanished with the passage of time. So, acting as a nurturing figure in anyone elses life is deeply appreciated.

Caretakingis warm, caring, accepting, and embracing. You might show someone close to you that you care by listening without judgement. You might include a person who seems like an outsider to your group and make them feel welcome.

Devotional energyis about the hearts need to surrender to something outside yourself, pouring out love and appreciation. Devotion is private and happens in silent communion. It doesnt have to be showy or even outwardly expressed. When you feel the impulse to express loving devotion, act upon it.

Compassionis about loving-kindness and the values that flow from it, such as empathy, acceptance, and non-judgment. Being easy with yourself and ending your own self-judgment are acts of compassion. The same is true when you extend the same attitude to others. As exalted as compassion sounds, it comes down to deciding that you are on the side of acceptance and kindness rather than judgment and harshness.

Intuition and receptivityare about making reconnecting to the source and living from that place. This is the energy of creation and inspiration; pure consciousness endlessly creates and is based on a flow of renewal every day. The opposite of renewal is habit, routine, mental conditioning and fixed beliefs. Rather than struggling to be more creative, use your efforts to tune in and intuitively remove the obstacles that block inspiration from coming through. Once you stop identifying with habit and routine, lifes freshness returns naturally, like water gushing from a spring.

DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a nonprofit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His 90th book, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities. For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution and his next book, Total Meditation (Harmony Books) will help to achieve new dimensions of stress-free living and joyful living. Time magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.

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Embracing the divine feminine power within us all - Yahoo Lifestyle

The medical journalist Oliver Gillie, who has died aged 83 of lymphocytic leukaemia, once said that his chief duty as a reporter was to be a reasoning critic of developments in medicine, as well as a celebrant of the good they often, but not always, did. Science writing had changed dramatically over the previous two decades, he wrote in 1980: a shift from the simple popularisation of expert knowledge in the didactic spirit of Thomas Huxley and HG Wells to a stance that was more analytical, informed by a greater awareness of the damage caused by uncontrolled pollution and the too-ready use of pharmaceuticals.

Gillie was in the vanguard of this revolution. Over a journalistic career lasting more than 40 years, he wrote with great versatility about subjects that in the 1960s and 70s were only beginning to edge their way into the macho atmosphere of newspaper offices, where a foreign coup traditionally commanded more respect, space and attention than news of new birthing methods or the diets least likely to cause heart disease or cancer.

Healthy food, the risks of the contraceptive pill, the easiest way to stop smoking, the best exercise: all these ordinary topics interested him and featured regularly in his health page, the first to appear in a British newspaper, which he started in the Independent in 1986.

He believed in self-improvement and the unorthodox, traits that had their foundation in his Quaker childhood his father was a teetotal vegetarian who took cold-water baths and were developed during his 15 pre-Independent years as medical correspondent of the Sunday Times, whose then editor, Harold Evans, was committed to spreading notions of what Gillie called body maintenance among the papers staff as well as its readers. Out of this spirit of self-help came his fascination with sunlight and its role in supplying the body with vitamin D.

Some saw Gillies behaviour as eccentric: he would run every day on Hampstead Heath wearing only shorts and trainers, sometimes embarrassing his children by collecting them from school bare-chested. But it was more than faddism. Gillie held a doctorate in genetics from Edinburgh University and before embarking on his journalistic career worked under Sir Peter Medawar at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. The central debate about human behaviour whether the bigger influence is environmental or genetic underpinned most of Gillies serious work, and with vitamin D he came down clearly on the side of the first.

Scotlands Health Deficit: An Explanation and a Plan (2008) was a study of the excess mortality of a country that was, and by some measures remains, the sickest in Europe. It drew the attention of scientists and policymakers, and made a valuable contribution to public health.

Diet, poverty, social deprivation, alcohol, tobacco: many reasons had been advanced for Scotlands ill-health and its slow rate of improvement, particularly by comparison with England and Wales, but the combination could never completely explain the countrys distressing morbidity statistics, even when heredity was included. South Asians in Scotland suffered more heart disease than South Asians in England, despite similar ancestry, diets and habits.

Gillies solution to the epidemiological puzzle known as the Scottish effect involved another form of deprivation: the populations relative lack of vitamin D. It was caused, so Gillie argued, by the cloud cover that, especially in western Scotland, blocks out so much of the ultraviolet light that in other European countries and the US supplies 90% of a healthy persons stock of the vitamin. His paper ran to 100 pages and attracted the support of many distinguished academics, including Harvards professor of nutrition of epidemiology, Edward Giovannucci, who said it made a compelling case. Today, thanks largely to Gillies work, the Scottish government recommends that everyone, including children, should consider taking a vitamin D supplement, particularly during the low-sunlight months that run from October to March.

Born in North Shields, at the mouth of the River Tyne in Northumberland, Oliver was the second of three brothers. His father, John Gillie, was a nautical instrument maker with a particular interest in ships magnetic compasses; he was also, as a Quaker elder, a pacifist. His mother, Ann (nee Philipson), studied fine art in Newcastle and Paris, and had a long and successful career as a painter and embroiderer whose pictures were collected privately in several countries and by public galleries in northern England.

Oliver went to local schools and then a private Quaker boarding establishment, Bootham school in York. He graduated with a first-class degree in natural sciences at Edinburgh, and after his PhD won a Fulbright scholarship to Stanford in California.

He had an intriguing, otherworldly kind of frankness questions and remarks would just pop out which perhaps came from a successful struggle to overcome self-consciousness. A large strawberry birthmark stretched across his left cheek and neck, and early in 1975 he decided to write about it, with photographs, in the features pages of the Sunday Times. The blemish, he wrote, had made him miserable and awkward one of its effects was to lose him a place at Cambridge University after an interview with a don who had a similar mark even more disconcerting than mine, so that the pair froze in embarrassment. It was a bold piece of personal disclosure, much rarer then than now, and both honest and compassionate in its view of what disfigurement meant. Someone with a crippled face does not get the sympathy of someone with a crippled leg I understand how, with people uglier or more marked than myself, it can erode the mind like the drip of water on a stone. It was typical of him.

Gillie sometimes reported on non-medical subjects, including modern slavery and the end of communism in Romania. His several narrative pieces for the Sunday Times magazine, including a close-up account of a heart transplant and the smoking habit that killed four kings, won him attention and added to his long list of awards.

His books ranged in subject matter from male impotence to sickle cell anaemia. His curiosity and wide reading of academic periodicals what he called the grey literature provided a constant stream of ideas and stories, and made him a valuable asset to his editors and newspapers.

He liked to run, walk and sail. Apart from his daily trots around the Heath, not far from where he lived, he ran two marathons when he was in his 40s. He and his family sailed regularly on the River Stour in East Anglia. In Scotland, he vowed to climb every Munro, a project that illness curtailed.

In 1969 he married the documentary film-maker Louise Panton. They had two daughters, Lucy and Juliet, and divorced in 1991. In 1999 he married Jan Thompson, a journalist and managing editor of the Guardian, and they had two sons, Calder and Sholto. She and his children survive him.

Oliver John Gillie, medical journalist and writer, born 31 October 1937; died 15 May 2021

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Oliver Gillie obituary - The Guardian

Lukas Frank, the 27-year-old indie singer-songwriter-musician also known by his band name Storefront Church, had an idea for a music video concept for his new single, Us Against Us. Hed been learning a lot lately about self-states, the psychology concept that posits that individuals take on or are made up of different personas, and he was particularly interested in a visual representation of that, especially if those selves were kind of annoyed with one another.

It meshed well with the lyrics too, so he drafted an accomplished Oscar-nominated writer-director to bring it to life as his co-director. It was an easy ask as theyd worked together before Lukas contributed songs to the Hollywood veterans TV shows Godless and the pandemic phenomenon The Queens Gambit (for which he also had a one-word cameo role). Plus, how could his father say no?

Lucky for Lukas, Scott Frank did say yes and they pulled off the shoot in one day at a soundstage in Williamsburg. The music video, which debuted today, finds Lukas playing five versions of himself, all riding in the same car. Theres the formal one, decked out in a suit and tie; an exhausted one curled up with a pillow; a hip version with tinted shades, cell phone and hoodie; an over-it driver; and a melancholic passenger in the middle seat in back. Its a striking scene set against the backdrop of hyper-capitalist imagery.

While that may sound serious, the mood on set was anything but. We had a lot of fun, Scott tells The Hollywood Reporter. It was fun to direct Luke, because being a director is being a father anyway. I always find it is a version of that most days, no matter how old the person is youre directing. Its a very scary thing to sit there and be in front of a camera and in front of a crew. What youre really looking for is reassurance that youre, A, not going to look like an idiot and that this person will be the best audience ever. Thats my job as a director a lot, and certainly my job as a father.

Lukas, who has collaborated with Phoebe Bridgers and as a onetime drummer for Portugal. The Man, is ready to find an audience for the single and his new album, As We Pass, the first from his new label/management company Sargent House. Its been a years-long process from finishing the album, shopping it to labels, securing representation and waiting out a global pandemic for the right time to debut the personal work.

On a joint Zoom call Lukas connected from Los Angeles while his father joined from New York the two discussed their creative process, the story behind Lukas one-word cameo and musical contribution to his dads The Queens Gambit, possible tour plans and follow-up projects and how Lukas recovery has impacted his music. (And pay close attention to the humorous ribbing in between.)

This is my first father-son interview of my life.

LUKAS FRANK: Ours too.

SCOTT FRANK: How about that? Its the first for all of us.

Lets start with the video because it makes sense that you would do a joint interview since you co-directed. Whose decision was that to jump in and co-direct?

SCOTT FRANK: Well, very simply, nothing was my decision. I followed Lukas lead on this. We thought it would be really fun to do this together and he had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do. I really saw my job as helping him get what was in his feeble mind.

LUKAS FRANK: I would give you a little more credit than that. We really came together with a concept for the video in a cool way. I definitely threw this on my dad last minute. We had talked about doing a video before the pandemic hit, and then we tabled it and thought well just do it for the next album or something. Then as things started to become a little safer, this idea came to me last minute, and I was like, Dad, we have to do a video in the next month. Please.

SCOTT FRANK: Month? It was three weeks.

LUKAS FRANK: Yeah, it was [three weeks]. We had no time to put it together. He really came through for me and made it work.

Tell me about how that concept came to you, the idea to play five different versions of yourself? How did you feel the visuals of that would play with the lyrics of the song?

LUKAS FRANK: Ive been learning a lot about self-states and how we have these different personalities and voices within us that are all in conflict with each other. I was really interested in doing a visual representation of that, and, particularly, a representation of them all being annoyed with each other. That meshed with the theme of the song, which is one of helplessness and individualism and feeling trapped in your own head.

I love that idea. How was it, then, to be on set and play different five different characters?

LUKAS FRANK: It was a lot of fun, and it was a lot of fun doing it with my dad, who knows me pretty well. We would joke about, oh, that ones the real you, the pretentious turtleneck one or the sleepy one. Theres a lot of ribbing that goes on in our household, a lot of teasing. I think it was fun to make a tongue-in-cheek video in that way, where were caricatures of my different personalities. I just tried to think of five distinct characteristics of mine that felt honest. So yeah, theres a sleepy one; theres an irreverent, douchey one; theres a more serious nerdy one; theres a real basic, boring one.

And as that relates to the album, theres a lot of aesthetic diversity to the songs on the album, and I think that comes from that same place of each self-wanting to have the stage for a moment on the album, to have their voice heard. So, thats why therell be a real grunge punk one right next to a softer Mazzy Star-sounding one or something.

Scott, what was it like to direct your son?

SCOTT FRANK: It was awful because Lukas was so difficult and wouldnt come out of his trailer. Except he didnt have a trailer. (Laughs.) No, it was a treat, and it was really a lot of fun to figure it out together. Like Lukas was saying, it came together so fast and we had one day to shoot it. We were very lucky that we had a gentleman named Nick Castle as our producer with his company, verytaste, so we had a ready-made production group to help us. Lukas and I could walk into that and Nick took care of us so we could focus on the creative aspects.

We had a lot of fun. It was fun to direct Luke, because being a director is being a father anyway. I always find it is a version of that most days, no matter how old the person is youre directing. Its a very scary thing to sit there and be in front of a camera and in front of a crew. What youre really looking for is reassurance that youre, A, not going to look like an idiot and that this person will be the best audience ever. Thats my job as a director a lot and certainly my job as a father.

Lukas, not everyone has an Oscar-nominated father available to direct them

LUKAS FRANK: Dont remind him.

Im sure youve been to his sets and watched him work, but did you learn anything new from him during this project?

LUKAS FRANK: Im trying to think if I learned anything about him from doing this with each other because I have been around him on set and worked with him

SCOTT FRANK: Ive directed him before. Lukas has played parts in

LUKAS FRANK: Oh, yeah. I had a one-word line in The Queens Gambit. I said, Shit.

Oh, wow, I didnt know that. What episode?

SCOTT FRANK: Episode three. Beth Harmon introduces herself to a chess player, and when he realizes he has to play Beth Harmon, he just gives up and basically says, Oh, shit. Thats Lukas.

I remember you!

LUKAS FRANK: Im honored. [Laughs}

SCOTT FRANK: He was really brilliant. Basically, all attention went right to Lukas on that.

LUKAS FRANK: Dad has a pretty collected way of working. Hes a pretty even-keeled guy. Im not directly answering your question, but I would say that most of what I know about him as an artist comes from just watching movies with him and knowing what he likes. Thats always been our bonding thing. Its our father-son activity; we watch movies together and we sit and talk about it afterward.

We have a shared taste and language, and theres this inherent trust there from just that. My taste is built off of watching movies with him and him showing me all of these cool things, or us discovering things together that we didnt know wed like. So much of my music is directly influenced by Hollywood and films. But as a director, everyone always says how he takes care of his actors. Thats what you always hear in the interviews, and its true. Hes a sensitive guy. Hes a loving, sensitive, caring guy and he looks out for people. Thats what he does.

That was really sweet. Lukas, I wanted to ask about the album too, because I was really struck by what you posted on Instagram last month. You were sharing gratitude to those who surround you, writing, As we pass through the in between spaces, as weve lived through the discomfort of change, as we move towards some kind of ending, which feels like it speaks to the current times but maybe also the album? How are you feeling about just putting this album out into the world?

LUKAS FRANK: The EP that I made before this album was a very lonely, alcoholic EP, and just a very dark inward journey. I did end up releasing it just under my name, and I almost released it anonymously. So, the transition from that EP to this album, this album became about community. I got sober. It became about letting people into the process. I gave it a project name instead of my own name.

The theme throughout is about things ending as we pass, being in a transition, being inside of the process of something ending, and the discomfort of that and living with that discomfort. Or the catharsis of something you want to end, being close to the end of something. Thats the only through line in the album but it is a metaphor for itself in that Ive been waiting for it Ive been working on this project for years now behind closed doors, and this is the first step out into sharing it with people, and thats its own ending and beginning of itself. It is strange to be sharing something thats to me now so old, but also something that Im proud of and have been looking forward to sharing with people.

How has getting sober affected your music?

LUKAS FRANK: Its the best thing Ive ever done for myself. Its affected everything in my life positively. Not to look at it with rose colored glasses because its been really hard, but theres the myth that you have to be struggling and intoxicated or whatever to be creative and that has never been more squashed by me and the people around me. Like [Zachary Cole Smith] from DIIV getting sober and making, to me, what is his most fully realized work, or the Deafheaven boys doing the same thing. All these bands around me, we came together in this sober community and Ive watched everyone make, to me, what is their most exciting work. So, yeah, its one of the best things I ever did for myself.

Dad, how does that make you feel to hear that?

SCOTT FRANK: Proud. Incredibly proud. He is so far ahead of me in terms of wisdom when I was his age. Its a hard thing to turn certain aspects of our lives around, especially when were so young, and to make these kinds of bold moves and commitments when were so young, and to recognize that were to have enough self-awareness to know what isnt working. Im just proud of him, and I lucked out when somebody picked him to be my son.

Do you have a favorite track on his album?

SCOTT FRANK: I love this one [were talking about, Us Against Us] but also Total Strangers. I also have Us Against Us permanently welded into my brain after shooting the video and listening to the song at various speeds for eight hours straight.

LUKAS FRANK: Yeah, it was double-timed so that we could shoot it in slow motion, and it sounds particularly psychotic at the double speed.

SCOTT FRANK: I find myself at various times during the day realizing that this song is playing in my head.

Lukas, you also have a track featured on The Queens Gambit. How did that come about? Do you present a track to your dad? Or does your dad say, I have a scene that I need this type of music for?

LUKAS FRANK: Well, we did it for Godless, and it ended up working out pretty well. Did you tell me what scene you needed something for?

SCOTT FRANK: I did. I gave you a spot.

LUKAS FRANK: So, both times hes given me a scene in the script, and I read the scene and I just tried to write to that scene like I was scoring the scene myself. I would just picture it in my head and be like, okay, well, whats the tone of whats happening here? What would I want to hear? In both cases, it was used as punctuation to the scene, which I really liked.

SCOTT FRANK: In the case of The Queens Gambit, it was a very sad moment and I was looking for something. I just knew Luke would be able to play against it in a way. Not in a cheerful way, but in a way that was unexpected. The trick was to do something that felt different, but not modern in both cases. We, again, took his music and started playing it as score earlier in the episode. In this case, it was right before the very end but it segued from [Carlos Rafael Riveras] original score into Lukas music and then into the song at the end, which was great. Watching a full orchestra record his song was really fun.

Its episode four, right?

SCOTT FRANK: Yes, its after her mother dies and shes in a pharmacia in Mexico and you hear Luke singing acapella and the music comes in while shes on the airplane in this sequence at the end. Its a really gorgeous piece of music.

LUKAS FRANK: I read that scene on the plane, and immediately wrote the chorus melody afterward. Ive never really had an experience like that where I read the thing and got the melody immediately. I find it really easy to come up with things that my dad would like. Theres such a specific musical language that he uses. He likes dramatic statements and I like that too. He played guitar in the house growing up. And writing Shame [a track for Godless featuring Phoebe Bridgers], I wrote towards what I would hear coming from his office. I think the one note that he gave me before writing Shame was no jazz chords. I was like, okay, cool, no jazz chords for the old Western track.

About The Queens Gambit, the word phenomenon doesnt even properly capture how big it has become. How does it feel to have contributed even a small part to that because Im told that you both sort of thought that nobody would watch?

LUKAS FRANK: Well, I have a responsibility to deflate his head at every possible turn. But its so cool. Its cool to see a passion project of his that he wrote, directed and worked on for so long get this much attention. Its awesome and its well-deserved validation. To have a small part in it makes it that much cooler. And be the first person nominated for an Emmy for a one-word line in a miniseries, its an honor and Im moved. (Laughs.)

This is your big FYC interview. Scott, how did it feel for you to sit back and witness this phenomenon take hold? Did it affect how you want to approach your work going forward?

SCOTT FRANK: Well, first of all, Im glad Im the age I am and not, say, Lukes age when this happened, because Im not sure how it would have affected me then. I was confused and then bemused. I remember saying to my wife, Lukes mom, when we finished cutting it, that for the first time ever in 30-some years of doing this, Im just so glad I got to make this. I never thought I would get to make this one. I honestly dont really care what anybody thinks. Then I forgot about it.

When I convinced Netflix to stupidly say yes to do it, I never thought anyone would watch it. I thought wed have an audience and it might come out okay, but it wasnt the kind of thing would become a part of the zeitgeist. It was not ever intended to be. While we were shooting, I was just so happy to be shooting. That was enough. I had half the budget that I had on the last one, so that was my thinking.

In terms of how it affects my decision-making matrix going forward, the things Im working on now are the same things that I was working on before the show happened. Im lucky in that I have a lot of things that I really love and care about that Im working on, and they all take time. Godless was a 12-year haul. Ive had several projects that were almost as long as that. This one certainly was. Ive been in and out of it over the years. I feel like Im just going to keep doing what Im doing and not take too much of a message from this beyond, isnt this a really nice thing?

LUKAS FRANK: While also breaking into the music video game at the same time.

SCOTT FRANK: As a fallback, I now am in the music video game.

Lukas, let me ask you too, now that your album is done and youve spent some time with it and youre putting As We Pass out there, how has this project affected what you want to do next? Or have you already been creating more music during this time?

LUKAS FRANK: Next week, I start rehearsals to get in the studio for the second album. Since I finished As We Pass, Ive been obsessively working on the second album. I learned so much making As We Pass that I immediately wanted to get back and do it again. But one thing, I started touring and then the pandemic hit. It was just all these things got in the way. Now I really have the time and space, and so Ill be taking the summer to do this second album.

Will you tour for As We Pass?

LUKAS FRANK: Yeah, absolutely. The second album probably wont see the light of day for another year or so. But in the meantime, Im taking this last minute of things being closed to get the second album done. Then Ill probably spend the early part or the bulk of 2022 touring off of As We Pass.

Lets end where we started with the father-son co-directing team. Are there more music videos in your future together?

SCOTT FRANK: If he lets me. Im available, Luke. I hope he might give me the offer. Im always waiting for the offer.

LUKAS FRANK: Well see. Well see. Well see. (Laughs.) Yeah, absolutely. Were both really happy with how this turned out. While theres the baked in father-son bickering that comes with it, theres also that inherent trust. We do have a good relationship as far as father-son relationships go.

SCOTT FRANK: And even though I havent heard any of the music on the new album, I have lots of ideas for you. Lots of ideas. So, stand by.

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A Frank Conversation: Scott and Lukas Frank on Father-Son Creative Process, Co-Directing Music Video and Collaborating on The Queens Gambit -...

According to a Facebook event page made by Central Church, is hosting their annual Day in the Park-ing lot Sunday, May 30th. This is a day where Central Church opens its doors aka "Parking-lot" to members from all of their locations and those in the community who are interested in attending a service.

The service will get kicked off at 10:30 am, but the worship service isn't the only thing happening. Central Church will be hosting baptisms, testimonies, and even a free bbq. Outdoor seating will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own chair or blanket.

Day in the Park-ing Lot will be taking place at the Central ChurchAugusta location at 20 Mission Ave in Augusta. Parking for this event will be at Cony High School, located at 60 Pierce Drive, in Augusta. Those unable to make the walk from Cony to Central Church can be dropped off at the Church's door.

Hey, have you downloaded our FREE app? If not, you totally should. With the app, you can stream us anywhere at any time; you can also send us messages, win exclusive prizes, and you'll even get the latest breaking news sent right to your phone. Want to download the app right now? All you've got to do is enter your mobile number below, and we'll send a download link right to your mobile device. It's that easy!

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Central Church Hosting Day in the Park-ing Lot Is Sunday May 30th - b985.fm

Imagine youre new to firearms and want to be armed for self-defense. Youre probably wondering which gun to buy, what type of holster you need, and what kind of ammunition would be best. Some will argue the gun is the most important element because it must work every time. Others will insist the holster matters most because if youre uncomfortable carrying, you wont carry. And then there are those who maintain that ammunition is paramount because ultimately, its the bullet that does all the work. Without question, all these items are important and can contribute to your survival, but what is most important?

Former Marine Jeff Cooper founded what is now known as Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona, in 1976. It is the oldest and largest civilian firearms training school in the world. In an effort to codify the basics of using a firearm to survive a lethal confrontation, Cooper established what he called the Combat Triad. This triangle of guidance consists of mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship. Though the three sides of the triangle are considered equilateral, the base or foundation of the Triad is mindset, for without the combat mindset, your skills and abilities with weaponry and tactics are of little value.

Your awareness, anticipation, concentration, coolness, and self-control are part of your mindset. With the proper mindset you will not be caught off guard. You will be able to unleash your inner monster in order to prevail upon your antagonist. With the proper mindset youre prepared to win. To stay alive and fight kicking, clawing, and screaming until youve expended your last breath. It also means youre prepared to act in a manner that, while not with malice, could ultimately result in the death of your attacker.

The proper mindset for self-defense is not something you can get from a book or purchase online; its a state of mind that must be matured. Good marksmanship and gun handling contribute to the proper mindset because they breed the confidence that you have the necessary physical skills to deal with an attack. The employment of a handgun for self-defense is nothing more than an extension of your will; you fight with your mind; the handgun is just a tool you use.

Gun Handling deals with skill at arms. It encompasses your ability to swiftly access and present your defensive handgun into the fight. It concerns your ability to keep your handgun operational; you must be able to reload when necessary as well as efficiently and effectively deal with any malfunctions or stoppages that might occur. But safety is part of gun handling as well. It represents your commitment to being a responsible gun owner who does not endanger others while handling a firearm, and it deals storing the handgun so that its secure from unwanted access.

Can you present your handgun to the target in less than a second and a half? Can you conduct a reload in two seconds or clear a stoppage in three? Can you holster the handgun safely or move in a crowd without pointing the gun at innocent people? These are all elements of gun handling.

Simply explained, marksmanship is the ability to maintain the proper sight alignment while the trigger is pressed. If done correctly, the bullet lands exactly where you want it to. But as it relates to self-defense, marksmanship it is much more than that. Marksmanship is the ability to shoot with speed while under enormous stress. Its not about trick shooting or little groups, its about being able to hurriedly deliver single or multiple shots into an attackers lethal zone. Marksmanship is not about how well you can shoot on your best day; its about how you will shoot on demand, when the stakes are at the highest.

Read Next: This Rifle Training Program Will Make You a Better Shot in 200 Rounds

Can you execute a critical-zone hit at five yards, from the holster, in less than two seconds? Deliver a head shot at 10 yards in three seconds or less? Can you fire an accurate double tap or perform the failure drill with two good torso hits and one to the head? These are basic marksmanship benchmarks that should be your goal.

If youre aware that when it comes to survival you are your own first responder, you have taken the first step in the development of the correct mindset. Acquiring a firearm and related gear is often the next step. This should be followed by the training you need to develop the skills of gun handling and marksmanship, because they provide the confidence and foundation you need to help cultivate the proper mindset to fight and survive.

While guns, holsters, and ammunition, are a part of the self-defense equation the parts that often get the most attention they are a distant second to what is most important and thats the Combat Triad. Built it and develop it; make it your aim.

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Self Defense Essentials and the Combat Triad - Outdoor Life Magazine

You may have heard people say, Im too tired to exercise. Perhaps this is also our own excuse when others ask why we are not consistently engaged in physical activity. According to the Heart Foundation, this is the number one reason for physical inactivity.

This is a paradox that you need energy to exercise, but one of the major effects of lack of physical activity is low energy levels. This makes it very difficult to get started in the first place. Oxygen is an important source of energy production fuel, and lack of exercise limits the supply of oxygen to our brain and body, causing a dip in energy.

So how does lack of physical activity affect our energy levels?

Low energy levels not only make us dull and unmotivated. The effects of physical inactivity cause concentration, wise decision-making, mood management, building resilience to stress, and the domino effect of overthrowing the ability to perform at best. Basically, its all the basic pillars for maintaining optimal energy levels.

If left unchecked, this can cause dissatisfaction in our own lives and create ripples that affect everyone around us.

But there is good news. You dont have to suffer for hours in the gym, get out of bed for jogging at dawn, or endure this discomfort and change this dynamic yourself.

Here are some of the ways in which the effects of physical inactivity can manifest themselves in different areas of our lives, as well as some simple, painless activities to increase energy levels.

Have you ever felt an energy drain when you were involved in a discussion with your partner, or when your child had a meltdown? Its like someone unplugging and the last drop of your vitality is flushed into a tube.

It turns out that lack of physical activity may be the cause of this phenomenon. According to one study, when people exercise, a cascade of positive interactions with friends and family is created on the day and the next day of the activity.

These benefits increase when we exercise with our loved ones. Next time, when you feel that a family feud is imminent, take a time-out to do physical activity together. When my child was a toddler, he abandoned our plans at the moment of frustration to go out with him and quickly moved the days trajectory to a more positive trajectory, even for just a few minutes. I remember many times. This is still true for teens and pre-teens today. It may take a little more patience these days to persuade you to change gear, but its always worth it!

Play basketball and tennis games. Bicycle around block. Trekk on the nearest trail or green space. Go find creatures in your local park or in your backyard. Not only does this tactic help spread the situation before it becomes unstable, but if you make it a habit, you may notice an overall reduction in these energy consumption moments.

An estimated 40 million adults in the United States alone suffer from anxiety disorders. When we are triggered by a threat, our brains deliver hormones, whether they are real or perceived, and deal with what is known as the fight-escape-freeze reaction. Help to do. The aftermath can feel like a massive depletion of our energy.

Sleep is a great way to recover, but persistent anxiety often makes this difficult. This is exacerbated by the lack of physical activity, which means that you are losing one of the most effective and natural ways to regulate your sleep patterns. Exercise also promotes mental clarity by effectively wiping the mind and body of excess stress hormones caused by anxiety.

Anxiety disorders are not the only thing that holds our energy levels together. Daily stress and mood swings can make us feel stuck on a roller coaster that is exhausted of emotions.

Physical inactivity contributes to the depletion of serotonin and dopamine. These chemicals help to naturally regulate our mood and energy. Physical activity enhances these chemicals and enhances the activity of the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain involved in higher thinking). This process calms the limbic brain (our emotional headquarters) and automatically shuts down energy-wasting emotional triggers.

Exercise helps us grow Mind and body consciousness While we learn to get out of the logical thinking process. The more we align with our bodies and what they are saying to us, the better we can utilize our inner knowledge. We can stop running out of energy by chasing solutions and verifications that come from outside ourselves.

Our connectivity to space or higher power can also be a catalyst for improving our energy levels. There are several approaches to strengthening this through physical activity. For example, yoga and tai chi are well-known spiritual practices that have been used for centuries to connect the mind, body, and spirit. From a Western perspective, they also help create harmony between our needs for achieved and peaceful energies. Too much focus on both ends of the spectrum can lead to burnout and depression.

Meditation is another spiritual habit that is also a proven energy booster. Unfortunately, sitting still and calming can be a challenge, especially for people with anxiety problems.

Walking meditation is a ritual that facilitates this while providing a combination of powerful energy enhancements for both physical activity and intentional reflexes. The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley describes this as a basic way to develop mindfulness. .. .. This involves a close focus on the physical experience of walking, paying attention to the specific components of each step.

Hiking in nature also counteracts physical inactivity, helping us reconnect with our spirituality by paying attention to the wonders of the world beyond ourselves. Awe-inspiring experiences contribute to positive changes in mood, attitudes and behaviors. This raises our energy level by freeing our spiritual space from overthinking and negativeness. We can trust our own inner knowledge and be devoted to the belief that the universe always has our back.

When your inner critics say you are too weak, too old, or too broken to achieve your greatest goals and fulfill the full purpose of life. How energetic do you feel? It drags you down, right?

When our brain believes in these negative thoughts, it runs out of our energy levels, but fortunately there is an easy way to counteract these lies.

You guessed it exercise.

Physical outcomes change our self-awareness, enhance empowerment emotions, Self-esteem.. For example, the increased agility and flexibility gained by repeated practice of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), martial arts, or metabolic conditioning sessions creates neural patterns in the brain. It takes over our mind and body and rewires for grit, strength, coordination, and resilience in all areas of our lives. What can feel more vibrant than knowing that you are powerful and can overcome any challenge that comes your way?

Our energy levels can also be improved through self-expression activities (eg, dance) by helping to unleash the emotional turmoil that may plague us. You dont have to focus on your appearance or weight to get the rewards of physical activity. Whether its salsa class, your favorite sport, Pilates or Zumba, or just a walk in the neighborhood, youll find what you like and move your body to make you feel better.

We also dont have to dive into the go getter approach that most efforts tend to adopt. We dont even have to think of it as athletic, artistic, or dramatic. What is needed is to take a step forward with a focus on personal progress. Get rid of expectations, self-judgment, comparisons and see yourself bloom.

Globally, one in four adults does not meet the recommended level of physical activity, according to the WHO. It is important to understand the impact of improper exercise on our health and longevity, but this is only part of the equation. There are many more issues here.

Modern life allows us to achieve most of our daily needs with the least amount of physical effort possible. Not only do you not get enough exercise, but you rarely move unless you move from the sofa to the fridge or from the front door to the car.

Physical inactivity is a powerful element that enriches our lives: ourselves, our loved ones, our inner peace, and the deeper universe around us. Take away the connection. Our ability to feel fulfilled and successful in life depends on the link between movement and vitality. Simply put, physical inactivity reduces our energy at all levels.

The breakdown to easily fit the schedule is as follows. Every 5 days a week, do 15 minutes of intense exercise (HIIT, jogging, metabolic conditioning, high-intensity swimming or cycling) or 30 minutes of moderate exercise (HIIT, jogging, metabolic conditioning). Lively walking, dancing, hiking, tennis, or underwater aerobics). And remember, any form of movement is better than nothing.

Featured Photo Credits: Adrian Swan Car via unsplash.com

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11 health benefits of Ashwagandha (backed by science) - Eminetra