Monthly Archives

November 2012

Rejoice: The Sky is NOT Falling!

By Uncategorized No Comments


The other day I happened to listen to NPR’s Talk of the Nation show. On the air was a NASA scientist who has garnered much Youtube renown for his attempts to explain why the world is NOT coming to an end on 12-21-12. Over the past year he has done his best to dispel these stupid rumors of the world’s demise by rogue planets (Planet X), magnetic pole shifts, and other nonsense hyped by fear mongers—from Hollywood to Fox News, all milking the end of the Mayan Calendar as “apocalypse now.”  The events of Hurricane Sandy haven’t helped. Perhaps most disturbing (to me and him) were the emails this scientist received from people asking when they should euthanize their pets and what was the best day to commit suicide as to avoid Armageddon (seriously, I am not making this stuff up!) The bottom line is that the world is NOT coming to an end (just as an FYI, people have been predicting the end of the world for millennia, and they have all been proven wrong). Fear-mongering is a toxin to the human spirit. With all due respect to the new James Bond movie, I repeat, the sky is NOT falling.
Stress Tip for The Day:
Indeed, there is much fear in the world today, most of it unfounded, nearly all of it potentially immobilizing. One great technique used in stress management circles is called “stress inoculation,” a mindset where you metaphorically vaccinate your mind to negative thoughts and become immune to the fear-based thoughts of others.  This metaphorical vaccination is made up of sound wisdom, faith and confidence in yourself that indeed, you can overcome any adversity). So without being rude to anyone, make a habit of rising above the conversations of gloom and doom. Don’t contribute to the energy virus of fear-mongering. Spend time with people of optimism who walk the path of compassion and light heartedness, even humor. Find the humor (mostly absurdity) in the banal chitter-chatter of fear-based comments, then walk away without adding to it. Smile with the knowledge that you are always in good hands. Step outside today and look up in the sky, and appreciate the beauty wherever your eyes take you.
Links and Books of Note:
Here is the link to yesterday’s NPR’s show… enjoy!
http://www.npr.org/2012/11/26/165928588/as-dec-21-draws-nigh-the-facts-about-doomsday
Quotes of the Day:
“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by wisdom.” —Bertrand Russell
Photograph of the Day
Today’s photo was taken last week while I was in Ireland. I got up early one morning to see the sunrise and caught an early morning rainbow over the Doonagore Castle tower outside of Doolin, County Clare. Rainbows are always a great sign of faith (and my group trip to Ireland next June is on, come hell or high water (or both). Enjoy!
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 12 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (7e) and the newly released, A Beautiful World: The Earth Song Journals. He can be reached through his website: www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.

Of Hope and Dreams

By Uncategorized No Comments


Perhaps what makes us different from all other animals on the planet is our ability to dream; To see an appealing fragment of the future, grab it, and bring it into the present, making it manifest through the alchemy of divine inspiration and human perspiration. Dreams just don’t happen, they take work; work through persistence, patience, wisdom, hope and faith. All of these aspects make humans different than other species too. What separates those who are happy from those who are not is the belief in oneself to make dreams come true. Those who manifest their dreams will tell you failure is part of their success, for no dream that comes easy is worthy of victory. Failure isn’t a sign of loss, stupidity or embarrassment; rather it is a stepping-stone to success, as so many people in Silicon Valley have taught us. Ask anyone who has ever creating anything of merit and they will tell you it first began as a dream. The combination of hope, faith persistence and effort is the road that makes dreams come true.
Stress Tip for The Day:
What dream sits on your doorstep? What wish do you harbor in your heart, that begs for the freedom of manifestation?  Wishes and dreams are seeds that await fertile soil.  That soil is your belief that you, indeed, can make it happen. Time to take action! Write down your dream/wish and set up a workable strategy to make it happen in the next 6-12 months. Persistence is paramount. So is will power. Belief in yourself is essential. And while hope is good, it’s not enough. As the saying goes, “hope makes a good snack, but a poor feast.” Good luck!
Links and Books of Note:
A friend posted this 4 min Youtube link on Facebook last night and I cannot wait for the whole movie to be finished… I hope you find it as inspiring as I did . Enjoy
Quotes of the Day:
“You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one.” — John Lennon
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”— H. Jackson Browne
Photograph of the Day
The photograph today is not one image but a collection of hundreds…Today, I choose to display the cover of my new book, for it was a dream of mine to publish a coffee table photography book, titled A Beautiful World, and boy is it! (If interested, it’s now available at the store link my website: www.brianlukeseaward.net)
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 12 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (7e) and the newly released, A Beautiful World: The Earth Song Journals. He can be reached through his website: www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.

The Art of Solitude

By Uncategorized No Comments

A speaker, named Susan Cain, at the now famous TED conference gave a stunning presentation on the plight of the introvert. Hidden among the many messages she shared with the audience was this: We each need time for solitude! Ideas, she said, need time to incubate, and this cannot happen in an environment of cacophony. Our world has become very noisy today, most notably digital noise, but let us not ignore the noise of perpetual conversation. Rarely are people ever alone! More rare is the time for self-reflection; time to sort out your thoughts, feelings and gain perspective on the direction of your life.  A stressed mind is a noisy mind. Solitude offers the chance to quite the mind; in essence, creating a “mental detox” from all the sensory stimulation and bombardment,not to mention ego chitter-chatter, that can derail even the sharpest of minds. It wasn’t that long ago that Sunday’s were considered to be a day of solitude. Stores were actually closed. Solitude has an essence of sacredness. Honor this. In our fast paced 24/7/365 world, solitude has become a rare commodity; one we would do well to invest in.
Stress Tip for The Day:
Take an honest look at your typical day and ask yourself how much time do you spend in complete solitude (no computer, no Ipod, no conversations, virtual or otherwise). Think healthy boundaries. If you meditate the answer is simple. Reading a book doesn’t count. Some people are afraid to be alone. They gain their energy from others, but solitude, whether you are an introvert or extravert, is as essential as taking a shower or brushing your teeth. Make time for more solitude in your life. Find a place to sit alone and contemplate the quietness of the world.
Links and Books of Note:
Here is the link to the TED talk mentioned above:
And here is the book the presenter has written on the topic. I highly recommend it.
Quotes of the Day:
“I live in the solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” — Albert Einstein
“We live in a very tense society. We are pulled apart… and we all need to learn how to pull ourselves together… I think that at least part of the answer lies in solitude.” — Helen Hays, Actor
“I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” —Henry David Thoreau
Photo of the Day
I am in County Donegal, Ireland on a business trip, relaxing at the Lough Eske Castle hotel. This is a photo of one of the many private living rooms, where this couch, not to mention the fire in the fireplace, begs for someone to enjoy the solitude…. which I did. Enjoy!
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 12 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (7e) and the newly released, A Beautiful World: The Earth Song Journals. He can be reached through his website: www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.

Stress and Genetically Modified Foods: The Danger of Frankenfoods

By Uncategorized No Comments

When scientists first spliced a gene of a founder fish into the DNA of a vine tomato in an effort to avoid frost damage, many in the food industry marveled at the new age of food production. Many environmentalists and nutritionists shuddered in horror, and for good reason. The world’s food supply took a dangerous turn down the road of science fiction.  The problem became headline news when the herbicide, Roundup, was spliced into the DNA of corn. So strong was the toxic effect that EPA (not the FDA) soon ruled that this brand of corn was no longer a food, but a toxic herbicide. A nationwide recall of corn products from Taco shells to corn flakes, ensued. Nutrition and health experts have noted a serious increase in food allergies since the introduction of “frankenfoods.” Equally frightening, some medical experts are suggesting that GMO’d food may be the cause of a growing number of cases of Morgellon’s diseases (see link below). When the body consumes a foreign substance that it deems hazardous, it takes steps to get rid of it (e.g., sneezing, coughing, vomiting, diarrhea, skin) etc.) Other substances  of questionable origin are often stored in adipose tissue, leading to long term problems. The human body has had eons to understand its nutrition environment, until recently however. GMO’s are often recognized as unnatural and in many cases, unhealthy. The bottom line is GMO’s are stress to your body’s health. Avoid them at all costs.
Stress Tip for The Day:
It may seem hard to tell what foods are genetically manipulated these days because the big food corporations (e.g., Monsanto) have lobbied hard (and won) to have food labels NOT tell you what’s exactly in them (estimates suggest that as many as 60-70% of grocerystore items are GMO’d. Your best bet for healthy foods are organic foods. Organic foods, while more expensive than conventionally grown foods are not only free of petrochemical fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides, they (as much as possible) do not contain genetically (cross species) manipulation. As a side note,  unless you are certain of what you’re eating I would avoid all corn and soy products altogether.
Links and Books of Note:
First and foremost, food is an economic and political issue, not a health issue. You may have heard that a 2012 California ballot measure to label all GMO’s was defeated due t mega millions of campaign dollars pumped in from many well know food corporations including…
Here are a few links of interest… enjoy:
Quote of the Day:
 “An ecosystem, you can always intervene and change something in it, but 
there’s no way of knowing
 what all the downstream effects will be or how it might affect the 
environment. We have such a miserably poor understanding of how the
 genetically modified organism develops from its DNA that I would be surprised if we don’t get
 one rude shock after another.”
—Professor Richard Lewontin, Professor of Genetics, Harvard University
Photo of the Day
Last week, on the way home from Poland, I paid a visit to my good friends Bernhard and Anne Kindelbacher in Frankfurt, Germany. Over the weekend they took me to a local farmer’s market. Knowing the inherent danger of frankenfoods, Germany, like all of Europe, does not allow GMO’d food products for sale. We should be so lucky here.
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 12 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (7e) and the newly released, A Beautiful World: The Earth Song Journals. He can be reached through his website: www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.

Beauty’s Only Skin Deep, but….

By Uncategorized No Comments


As I quickly scanned through my recent copy of the Smithsonian magazine, I was intrigued by an X-ray photograph of a woman’s foot with metal pins. As it turns out, she, and countless other women are now having the ends of their toes amputated so they can fit their feet into smaller stiletto heels—all for the look of beauty. A similar article in TIME magazine spoke of American’s new love affair with Botox, all for the love of looking young and beautiful. In the same issue of Smithsonian was an article about Abraham Lincoln. Abe may have been a masterful politician, but conventional wisdom suggests that he never would win an election today. Abe didn’t have the look, in fact, far from it! It’s no secret that Americans (male and female) are obsessed with youth and beauty; welcome to the age of hyper-narcissism. Sadly, a news report several weeks ago cited a study that revealed that both men and women who are considered “good looking” by others tend to earn a higher salary than these less fortunate, plain looking human beings. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the obsession with one’s looks is nothing less than shallow. Let’s be honest here: To be beautiful or handsome physically, but ugly in character only negates one’s physical appearance. Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes straight to the bone.
Stress Tip for The Day:
One of my friends has a young daughter who, by all accounts, is stunning. Well aware that she might one day be caught up in the cultural obsession with one’s looks, both mother and father repeat a mantra to her several times a day: Beauty is as beauty does. It’s a mantra we should all whisper to ourselves daily. How much time do you spend on your inner beauty? If the answer is less than your outward appearance it’s time to examine your priorities. Do you harbor ugly thoughts and feelings (toward yourself or others)? Do you engage is selfless acts of altruism? It’s time to work on your inner splendor, to reveal the dynamic beauty of your soul. When all is said and done, this is the only thing that matters.
Links and Books of Note:
I would like to request that everyone watch the video in this link called  model to billboard, just to see what goes on behind the myth making of the modeling industry… (and it’s not just women I am talking about). Priceless.
Quotes of the Day:
“The most beautiful make-up of a woman is passion, but cosmetics are easier to buy.” — Yves St. Laurent
“There is no better cosmetic for beauty than true happiness.” — Maria Mitchell
Photo of the Day
If you are looking for beauty, look no further than nature. There is plenty there, including the likes of this sunflower… Enjoy!
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 12 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (7e) and the newly released, A Beautiful World: The Earth Song Journals. He can be reached through his website: www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.

Stress and The Upside of Routines

By Uncategorized No Comments


Your body craves routines. It really likes it when you go to bed at the same time every night and wake up the same time every day (even on weekends when you could sleep in.) It likes it when you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time too. It even likes it when you exercise the same time every day. Your body runs on a 24+ hour clock; that’s right, we are creatures of the sun, like most everything else on the planet. In scientific terms this is called “circadian rhythms.” People who live with set routines each day (specifically with regard to physical well-being) are known to live longer (and healthier) than those people who live their life like in a ricochet fashion.  Twice a year, our body clock gets thrown out of whack (day light saving time) and more if you fly in different time zones (I am writing this blog today from Poland), but your body bounces back when you stick to a routine. Routines can seem rather boring a times, but the truth of the matter is they are extremely healthy. Living like a stress ball, ricocheting off of walls, is quite stressful to the body… and anything but healthy.
Stress Tip for The Day:
Do you have a set routine or is your life all over the map with regard to sleep, eating and exercise habits? Day light savings time is a good time to hunker down with some consistent routines. Honor your body’s clockwork by setting some good healthy boundaries regarding the time you eat your meals, the time you go to sleep (and get 7-8 hours) and the time you incorporate daily exercise, even if it’s just walking 20 minutes. Your body will thank you for this attention, and people will remark how you look much younger. Really!
Links and Books of Note:
Here are some links about the topic of circadian rhythms:
Quotes of the Day:
Note: I couldn’t find any great quotes on today’s subject, but these came up when I googled quotes on circadian rhythms. Enjoy:
“We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don’t know.” —W. A. Auden
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which one’s to keep.”— Scott Adams
“Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time.” —George Carlin
Photo of the Day
We continue to have some great sunsets over the Rocky Mountains. This photo was taken last week….. Enjoy
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 12 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (7e) and the newly released, A Beautiful World: The Earth Song Journals. He can be reached through his website: www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.