Easing the Pain by Coming Together

Beth found an interesting article today in the Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090927150348.htm

Called “Pulling Together Increases Your Pain Threshold” whereby a study of an Oxford rowing team found that as boys worked together, they were able “to tolerate twice as much pain as when they trained on their own.” Further conclusions from the study indicated that “acting as a group and in close synchrony seems to ramp up pain thresholds’ and “this effect may underlie the experience of warmth and belonging that we have when we do activities like dancing, sports, religious rituals and other forms of communal exercises together. “

And of course, Girls Circles and Boys Councils. This study confirms how important and powerful community is and how the brain responds to an environment that promotes bonding and working together. From a female perspective… … …

Are We Women Happy Yet?

Maureen Dowd’s column in Saturday’s NY Times, Blue is the New Black
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/opinion/20dowd.html?_r=1
tells us that according to the General Social Survey, women are less happy than before the 1970’s, and men feel better. But why?

Well, first let me ask a few questions about the survey, for example, how is “happiness” defined? What questions were asked? To whom? By whom? How representative were they? And if all that checks out, then let’s go ahead and ask why we might be generally less content than 40 years ago.

I bet a lot of this decline in happiness is related to economics, and a second influence being our inexperience and discomfort with the practice and power of taking care of ourselves.

Women have more educational and career choices in America than we did when I was in high school in the early 70’s, but due to economic policies that have favored… … …

How We Keep Our Cool

News from the U.S. Capitol to the MTV awards to the US Open Tennis Semi Finals this week has been all about people losing their cool and dissing each other – Joe Wilson screaming out “You Lie!” to President Obama; Kanye West taking the mic from Taylor Swift and saying Beyonce deserved Taylor’s award; and Serena Williams – the awesome Serena- goin’ off on the linewoman. Ouch!

Across the world, teens and kids are watching Americans forget to respect if they’re mad or disagree. And the media will profit handily by showing these scenes repeatedly.

I’m not making excuses for any of the people I mentioned above. However, “there but for the grace of God go I,” because I’m just as capable – and at times responsible- for losing my cool. I think we all are just as capable, if not always in… … …

On Miracles of Babies, and on Deep Criminal Justice System Flaws and Paradox

This past Friday my sister gave birth to a little girl. I arrived to see her just after her first bath and before she was swaddled and knit capped. OMG how beautiful!

What a miracle it is to see this new baby girl. She had me thinking about every new baby arriving this week on the planet.

What will be in store for each one? What steps are we taking now to create safe and healthy homes and neighborhoods, nutrition, water, medical care, relationships, education, economic sufficiency, and opportunity for them?

A FANTASTIC magazine named World Pulse oput of Portland, OR, is covering these questions through the eyes of the world’s women and girls.
You have to see their Summer/Fall 2009 issue, and … … …