Currently, equitable education is not provided on a worldwide scale. Furthermore, the socioeconomic achievement gap is becoming wider apart than ever, leaving many bright minds undiscovered. This inequity in education is unacceptable, as it infringes not only on individual rights but also on society’s morality and progression as a whole.

I find the issue of education especially personal, as public education was how I overcame my adversities, I grew up in a financially insecure, immigrant family in which I had many household responsibilities. I translated constantly for my parents, and I was expected to pay for my own financial expenses. However, as soon as I poured my energy into school work, I learned that knowledge was an equal playing field. It didn’t matter who I was but only what I knew.

My free twelve years of schooling has allowed me to become a leader, serve others, and find my voice. I keep this constantly in mind, understanding I am beyond lucky to have had a public education. Without this education, I wouldn’t be a Northwestern student. I would be a high school dropout, driving for Uber or working at a fast food restaurant like my parents who could not get a privilege to receive public education.

Because education is so important, students of all backgrounds should be able to attend school. Specifically, more focus should be on underprivileged school districts. Furthermore, it is essential to reinstate authority back to the teachers and students. This is to ensure that administrators spearhead education policy instead of uninformed government leaders. What is best for our students should no longer be overshadowed by politics. By listening to the people our legislation most affects, we can make better law.

According to The Atlantic, educators have criticized Trump administration’s budget proposal detailing over $9 billion in education cuts, including slashes to funds for after-school programs that serve mostly low-income students. Moreover, these cuts came along with increased funding for school-privatization efforts such as school vouchers. United States Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos has repeatedly gestured her support for school choice and privatization, as well as her disdain for public schools, describing them as a “dead end”.

Such cynicism suggests there is no hope for public education. However, this mindset is demonstrably false and even dangerous. Current discussion repeatedly ignores public schools’ victories by trivializing their civic role. Our public-education system is about much more than personal achievement; it is about preparing people to work together to advance not just themselves but the whole society. Unfortunately, the current debate’s focus on individual rights and choices has distracted many politicians and policy makers from a key stakeholder: our nation as a whole.

The Founding Fathers understood that a healthy democracy required education. Thomas Jefferson, among other historical titans, believed that a functioning democracy required an educated citizenry. Importantly, he viewed education as a public good to be included in the “Articles of public care,” despite his personal preference for the private sector in most matters. John Adams, another advocate of public schooling, urged, “There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the expense of the people themselves.”

In the centuries since, the courts have consistently affirmed the momentous status of public schools as a cornerstone of the American democratic project. In its vigorous defense of students’ civil liberties, the Supreme Court has always held public schools to an particularly high standard precisely because they play a unique role in fostering citizens.

This role is not limited to civics instruction; public schools also provide students with crucial exposure to people of different backgrounds and perspectives. Americans have a closer relationship with the public-school system than with any other shared institution. But in the past few decades, we have allowed school system to grow more segregated, both racially and socioeconomically through privatization of such institutions.

Diane Ravich, an esteemed educational policy analyst, writes that “one of the greatest glories of the public school was its success in Americanizing immigrants.” At their best, public schools did even more than that, integrating both immigrants and American-born students from a range of backgrounds into one citizenry. As an immigrant who moved to U.S without any prior exposure to its language or culture I can certainly affirm that my public education was a major factor that helped me to become a part of this society.

During times when our media preferences, political affiliations, and cultural tastes seem more disparate than ever, abandoning this amalgamating factor is a real threat to our future. And yet we seem to be headed in just that direction. The story of American public education has generally been one of continuing progress, as girls, children of color, and children with disabilities (among others) have redeemed their constitutional right to push through the schoolhouse gate.

Particularly, the courage that Ruby Nell Bridges displayed as the first black child to attend a white school continues to inspire people. During the process of racial desegregation in the 1960s, this six year-old activist became the first African-American student to integrate a white Southern elementary school, escorted to class by U.S. marshals due to violent mobs. It is noteworthy that the white school Ruby attended for her continued Civil Rights action was a public school. Out of all the school choices she had -charter school, magnet school, private school, or even homeschool- she chose a public school as a battleground to grant equitable education to everyone. This further emphasizes that public schools do not only foster youth to become responsible citizens or forge a common culture from a nation of immigrants; they also play a significant role at reducing inequalities in American society.

In conclusion, in this era of growing fragmentation, we urgently need a renewed commitment to the idea that public education is a worthy investment, one that pays dividends not only to individual families but to our society as a whole.

I don’t consider depression as an illness. Contrary to its definition I believe that depression is just an adaptive mechanism which has served humans for thousands years.

We all get depressed from time to time. Some people recover faster than others. Some turn to alcohol, drugs, food or something else to cope with their bad feelings. But many are able to find hope and good spirits in a relatively short time: these are normally people who are adapt at listening to their intuition or their intuitive voice.

The fact is that feeling low sometimes is nature’s way of telling us that something is wrong with our lives and we need to fix it.

Depression is similar to pain. Pain tells us that something is wrong with our body and it needs treatment. The same can be said about depression – it warns us that we need to change the way we live our life.

Generally in order to feel good, seven important factors must be present in our lives:

1. Good nutrition.

2. Fresh air.

3. Sunshine.

4. Physical activity.

5. Purposeful activity (goals or purpose in life).

6. Good relationships.

7. Good and regular sleep.

If any of these factors are missing, a person feels uncomfortable. If several of them are missing a person gets depressed and even goes into despair.

The fact is that most depressed people live on a bad diet, drink lots of alcohol, smoke, and stay indoors nearly all the time, they don’t exercise and don’t have any goals to strive for. Their relationships are poor or almost non-existent.

Why do people practice this self-destructive behavioural pattern? I think one of the most important reasons is that they stop listening to their intuitive voice or their spirit. They lose hope that they can be happy again, have love and feel pleasure. Their intuition shuts down.

Intuition is our gift from nature and its function is to keep us safe, healthy and happy. Our intuitive voice always guides us to what is best for us. This voice is gentle, subtle and non-intrusive. The problem is that it can be easily overrun by brain noises – most of which are loud, emotional and negative.

The brain is your chatterbox.The brain tells you how bad your life is, how insufficient you are and how bad you feel. The brain does not necessarily tell the truth but often gives us only a perception of the truth. Intuition always leads you onto a better direction in live and always tells the truth.

Of course severe loss and trauma can cause depression even in an otherwise healthy person. Even when all the seven factors are present, the loss of a loved one or a breakup usually result in profound feelings of depression. The same can happen with the loss of one’s career, health, home, etc.

But if the person who is suffering the loss is able to connect to his/her intuition – the depression goes away much faster.

One of the worst things that can happen to a person is when they go to a mental health centre; mentions they are depressed and is then sent off to see a psychiatrist. Then they get a prescription for antidepressant and are told (falsely) that their depression is an illness like diabetes for example. Then they are told they must take pills the same way that a diabetic must take insulin and they lose touch even more with their intuition.

Depressed people take the prescribed drugs they are given, but remain unequipped to manage their lives. Their habits and lifestyle stay the same so the depression grows. The side effects of taking antidepressants can also cause severe problems like drug addictions, drowsiness, immobility, poor coordination etc.

The most important thing for a mental health professional is to assess a depressed person’s lifestyle, habits, relationships, history, etc., to determine the source of their depressive feelings. From this assessment, a healing program should be developed and active support and assistance provided to the patient in the implementation of this program.

An explanation on how the spiritual side in human beings work must also be provided by a health professional. Without recognising and accepting the spirit it is nearly impossible for anyone to recover from depression permanently. Sure they can go into a kind of remission, but some little thing happens and they crash back to their depression.

The best antidepressant is your own spirit and the intuitive voice we all possess. Learning to use it will be much more beneficial in the long run that a handful of drugs.

If you are reading this, and fit the situation, then the subject is already a consideration on your mind.

You may have read something on the subject, spoken to a girlfriend who has passed through the experience recently, and heard about it in school. We hope to help you here, with a short guide. It is for you.

First of all, you must feel it is the correct thing to do. You must NOT be pressured into it, or the experience will fail to bring you the pleasure and good memories you expect and deserve. You are in charge of your life and body. You must really feel ready for it.

If you have been masturbating, you probably had clitoral orgasm, so you know what is possible in terms of feelings. You must also, know your own anatomy.

You know you have some outer lips that cover the vulva, and some inner lips which are very flexible. If your hymen is intact, you are also going to tear that, with the accompanying sensations and bleeding. Find out.

In the second consideration, do not have sex if you have over-drunk alcohol. You can become drunk and lose a great deal of your judgment after even one drink.

The third consideration is INSISTING on the use of a condom with your partner. The reasons for this are well known, and certainly there is no excuse for not using it. You must be protected. This is a health concern, a very good way to prevent conception, and generally a good idea as it will help to slow down your partner by desensitizing him a bit.

So to begin.

You cannot have too much foreplay. This should take the form of mutual kissing, erotic massaging, exploring each other’s bodies, seeing where each of you are sensitive and have erogenous spots. Don’t rush. It will be over soon enough as it is.

All the while as you have foreplay, your womb will be producing the all important moisture that is required. Believe us, the wetter the better. You cannot be too wet for the first time. If you are a bit adventurous, ask you partner to give you cunnilingus, and if you can, give to your partner some fellatio. These are wonderful signs of showing affection.

Getting into it.

Make sure after your foreplay (and perhaps fellatio) put on the condom if you haven’t already. The partner may make the first move to go directly into the standard missionary position. Bad idea. It is the worst position to lose your virginity. You are not in control, and it will be more painful and you cannot do anything but lay there and take it.

Instead, try the girl on top position. Here you are in control. Your vagina has never had anything in it before (like a penis) and it must accommodate it slowly…and it will.

If you are losing you hymen, you are the one determining the speed and pressure with which it occurs. You will not suffer, and if you are still not wet enough, you can apply some water-based vaginal lubricant (such as K-Y). The deed is soon done, and you can get down to thrusting.

At first, have your partner move without thrusting, just applying pressure while fully inserted in your vagina. As it begins to feel natural, you can your self start thrusting.

At this point you can change positions (assuming your partner has lasted) and go onto your back. However, do not settle for the simple missionary position, but tilt your pelvis slightly up, and ask your partner to suspend himself on his arms and not lay on you…this when thrusting will stimulate both your clitoris and G-spot.

There are a lot of variables here, but lose you virginity as we suggest, and you will have in your mind pleasant memories instead of feeling unfilled, or used.

Having been obese during a phase of my life, I know the emotional pain of feeling large and unacceptable. Our culture has indoctrinated most of us, particularly women, to believe thinness and media-defined beauty will bring happiness, bliss and self-love. Unfortunately it appears there is no limit to what we will do to achieve beauty we believe we don’t have and a figure that is as close to a sought-after shape as possible.

It has come to my attention this week that the Food and Drug Administration has recently approved two new “devices” that contour the body ~ eliminating “love handles” and fat “pouches”. These two medical procedures claim to rid the body of excess fat without the need for surgery or invasive methods. One technique “freezes” the fat cells in “love handles” or specific areas of accumulated fat, causing them to self destruct over a period of several months. With their “CoolSculpting device”, a patient simply sits in a chair while a technician uses a tool that sucks a handful of fat into a container the size of a paper bag which adheres tightly to the body and starts chilling the fat. Eventually the fat is actually frozen, causing the cells to die an early and natural death ~ being reabsorbed into the body. The company’s founder, Mitchell Levinson, claims the fat doesn’t return.

The second technique is a procedure that does not kill fat cells. Rather a low-energy laser device, called the Zerona laser, creates small pores in the cell membranes causing the fatty contents to slowly seep out, deflating the cells. According to Ryan Maloney, chief research officer of the manufacturer, Erchonia Corp., the cells are still viable and are able to secrete important health hormones. The patient lies on a table while the device rotates around the waist, hips and thighs. The procedure takes 20 minutes per side and is repeated three times a week for two weeks. Both procedures cost up to $3,000 for each “love handle” (or similar accumulation of fat cells) and a larger area of fat or a “muffin top” may require two treatments. These methods are appropriate, however, for only “discrete” bulges, not large areas of fat.

If you have read this far and are not deeply worried, you should be concerned ~ more than concerned. These companies and the people who pay thousands of dollars for these procedures are supporting a myth that is robbing thousands of people of self-acceptance and joy in life: the myth of bodily perfection. We have been brainwashed by a sixty billion dollar a year diet industry that informs us, in both conscious and unconscious ways, that we will be what we desire: loved, longed for, accepted, admired and above all satisfied and blissful ~ if we just lose weight and shape ourselves differently. Yet according to recent studies, no one is happier once they are thinner or re-shaped according to some external definition of loveliness. In addition, in spite of all we are bombarded with regarding lifestyle change and weight loss, obesity on the rise ~ now reaching our youth with alarming statistics. Something is terribly wrong.

For most of my professional life I have worked with women struggling with weight issues, doubts of self worth and body image distortions. In my own life, I have gained and lost over 1,900 pounds. I know intimately the desperate attempts to be thin and to have a body that looks like the models on magazine covers. I have learned dissatisfaction is not relieved by dieting or by “sculpting” our bodies. Deep and lasting satisfaction with ourselves requires us to dismantle the false information we tell ourselves or have been told by others and now believe to be true. We must face ourselves compassionately, accept who we are and trust our worth and our goodness. We must give up believing the myth of “if only I were different than I am I would be happy”. We must define our own truth and live with awareness, wise choice and self acceptance.

Sadly, many women (and men) live a lifetime believing they have to be thinner or more attractive in some way to be happy and fulfilled in life. Too often this quest for perfection leads to a constant state of unhappiness and longing ~ and too often isolation, depression, and eating disorders are the results. In order to live in acceptance, joy and freedom, we must let go of the “myth” and open to a truth much more liberating, realistic and rich with possibility: we are already lovable and complete, just as we are. We must lay down our attachments to weighing less or looking differently. Nowhere in the world is it true that the value of the human spirit is dependent upon a number on a scales or a certain sculpted shape. Attempts to be thin or thinner take us further and further away from the heart of the matter ~ and from what will bring true happiness: becoming in touch with our true nature and realizing we do not need to be fixed or improved upon to be whole, to be valuable, to be loved.

Aside from hijacking opportunities for personal acceptance and transformation of belief systems about body and weight issues, dismissing fat cells from the body may not be healthy in the long run. Fat cells serve a purpose and it is important to understand the part such cells play in health and wellness. Briefly, fat cells are not just places that store surplus calories. They also regulate growth, puberty, healing, disease-fighting and aging. Fat cells release more than 100 hormones, two of them being leptin (which tells the brain to eat more or less) and adiponectine (which helps regulate metabolism). Healthy fat cells are attentive to the body’s needs, according to Michael D. Jensen, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. If fat cells aren’t working properly, they don’t do their job of storing or releasing fat effectively (a process necessary for health of the body). Instead, certain fat cells (called visceral fat cells) accumulate both in and surrounding the heart and liver, releasing fat into the blood stream and raising the risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Another potential danger in the new fat blasting techniques is that they don’t target visceral fat ~ only subcutaneous fat (fat cells that accumulate under the skin, around the hips, thighs and lower belly). If a person continues to consume more calories than they burn, they may actually speed up the process of accumulating harmful, life-threatening fat ~ leaving them, perhaps, more sculpted but at a very high price. In addition, many experts are concerned that forcing fat out of fat cells could increase the level of fat in the bloodstream, a toxic and dangerous situation. Also, losing fat cells could lower leptin levels and signal the brain to eat more. Though both companies, Zeltiq and Erchonia Corp., are assuring the public their methods are safe, they also urge people to change their eating and exercise habits as well.

It appears that, ideally, subtle excess fat can be removed for a price and, if the patient is wise, he or she will also change their lifestyle habits in order to lose weight. This brings us back to the myth of body perfection and the apparent failure of the American majority to maintain a healthy weight and fitness level. Is it possible that there is something larger at play here than fat cells and body shape? I think so.

We want to be thin and shapely because being so is the currency of happiness and acceptance in our culture. Yet this currency is a lie and most weight loss systems fail because they do not make people happier in the end. Being a certain shape does not address the issue of emptiness or an unhappiness that goes deeper than any diet, fat freezing technique or laser magic. Before any true or sustainable joy can be experienced, we must first accept ourselves and be grateful for the bodies we have. We must marvel at the extraordinary complexity and beauty of our physiology and body wisdom. We must take time and listen to the whispers of our heart and soul. We must find the courage to face our deepest fears and strongest feelings without turning to food or fat removal as a refuge. We must face our truth, our lies, and realize that misery and suffering is based on wanting to be somewhere other than where we are right now. This includes our bodies. We must stop contributing to the tyranny and the violence of forcing our bodies to be different than they are, according to some external standard.

If you are someone who is tempted to look into fat removal, I wonder if you would consider asking yourself: am I contributing to a preoccupation with and dedication to perfection? Am I turning away from my feelings, leading me to unhealthy eating habits? Do I want a quick fix ~ an overnight cure ~ robbing me of the opportunity to face my true issues and embrace my life with wisdom and mature choice? Am I shunning the commitment and discipline required to establish a healthy lifestyle, thus perpetuating a habit of avoidance? Am I setting an admirable and respectable example for the youth of our culture by paying thousands of dollars to fix what was never broken ~ just in need of a shift of lifestyle? Can I put this money to better use than freezing off or lasering down pockets of ‘unwanted me’?

It is my belief that when we welcome and accept the parts of us that we most want to remove, we open ourselves to true freedom and happiness. Our lives can become vibrant and full of value and meaning. Facing our feelings, learning new ways of being with who we are and what we look like opens us to all life has to offer. Becoming free of an existence of conformity to an externally dictated and desired shape expands our horizons and enlarges our entry way into life in full color, vivid and fulfilling. Turning away from the option of an almost instant body change is the chance of a lifetime to live deeply from a core of wholeness and strength. From this foundation, we take a stand and participate in a change desperately needed by our culture: a transformation from being a prisoner of wanting and seeking perfection ~ to being authentic, whole and vibrantly alive, embracing all of life with mindfulness, strength, faith, certainty and purpose.

“…don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth, without complicated explanation, so everyone will understand the passage: we have opened you.” ~ Rumi.

Thousands of articles are written every year on how to lose weight, and each of them suggests a different way of going about it. The truth, however, is that any excess weight you may have is related to the number of calories you take in and the number you use up each day. It’s as simple as that, and no one can prove otherwise. It’s like the gas you put in your car: you put in so much and you travel so far. In the case of your body, you eat a certain amount of food, and it sustains you for a certain length of time. If you eat more than you use up, the excess calories are stored as fat.

Let’s consider the calories you take in and use up each day in detail. As it turns out, there are three main types of calorie burns. The first is referred to as the Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. It is the biggest of the three, and is your resting metabolism; in other words, it is the number of calories you burn when you’re just sitting around. It is used for fueling your cells, keeping your heart beating, your lungs functioning, your brain operating, and so on. About 60 to 80 percent of the overall calories that you burn each day are BMR calories.

The second largest calorie burn comes from the thermionic effect of eating. It might seem a little strange, but it takes calories to burn calories — in other words, to digest your food. For protein it takes about 25 calories for every 100 calories consumed, and for carbohydrates and fat it takes about 10 to 15 calories for every 100 calories consumed. And that can add up to a substantial number of calories. It accounts for between 10 and 30 percent of the total calories you burn each day.

Finally we come to the one that might surprise you, namely exercise and general body movement. Most people think that exercise makes a large contribution, but it doesn’t. This doesn’t mean that it isn’t important — it is. You can easily burn off 500 calories in an intensive workout, but in general, for most people, exercise and body movement accounts for only about 10 to 15 percent of the calories they burn off in a day.

Now let’s apply the above to a typical woman and man. First of all we need BMR formulas, and they are as follows:

Adult male: 66+ (6.3 times your body weight in pounds) + (12.9 times your height in inches) – (6.8 times your age in years).

Adult female: 655 + (4.3 times your weight in pounds) + (4.7 times your height in inches) – (4.7 times your age in years).

As an example, we’ll assume you are a 40-year old woman who weighs 140 pounds and is five feet-two. Substituting in the appropriate numbers we find your BMR is 1360. For your thermionic calories we multiply .15 times the total number of calories that you took in during the day. Assume it was 1900; your thermionic calories are therefore 285. The contribution from exercise and body movement is a little harder to determine exactly, as it depends on how hard and how long you exercised during the day. We’ll assume that you didn’t work out; in this case your contribution is probably about 200 calories. And this gives you a grand total of 1845 calories.

If you consumed 1900 calories during the day you took in an excess of 55 calories. This doesn’t seem like much, but in two months (if you do this each day) you will gain a pound, and over a year you’ll gain 6 pounds. (I’m using the fact that there are 3500 calories in a pound here.)

Let’s do the same thing for a 40-year old six-foot man who weighs 170 pounds. Substituting into our BMR formula we get 1793. In this case we will assume a calorie intake of 2600; multiplying it by .15 gives 390 for his thermionic calories. For exercise and body movement let’s assume he uses up 300 calories (this means he did not work out during the day). His grand total is therefore 2483, and if he took in 2600 calories during the day, he would have an excess of 117 calories. This will add up to a pound of weight every 30 days, and about 12 pounds in a year.

It’s easy to see from this that weight gain can slip up on you if you’re not careful. Even a few excess calories each day can add up to a considerable weight gain over the year. The best way to keep tab on how well you are balancing your input and output calories is, of course, to weigh yourself every so often, and if you see that you are gradually gaining weight you should take steps to change things as soon as possible. You will have to either cut down slightly on your intake of calories or exercise more. And I’d like to emphasize that, even though exercise doesn’t appear to make a large contribution to the overall calories we use up in a day, it can be very important. As I mentioned earlier, a good workout can use up 500 calories, and this could easily offset any excess you might have.

In today’s times, people who belong to the baby boomer generation are now already into their senior years. This aging baby boomer generation led to the increased awareness for health and fitness that people nowadays seek to improve their well-being through proper diet, maintaining a good weight and exercise. If you want to lose weight but do not have enough time or money to regularly go to the gym then you might want to try putting Apple Cider Vinegar in your diet.

Apple cider vinegar has been known to be an all-around natural remedy for both the prevention and treatment for a number of illnesses. It has also been used to aid people in losing weight because of its following properties:

Suppresses your appetite. The acetic acid or the vinegar component of apple cider vinegar will give you a feeling of fullness which will cause your appetite to be suppressed. The feeling of fullness can be directly attributed to the amount of apple cider vinegar consumed.

Stabilizes your blood sugar levels. This also helps in maintaining your blood sugar level. This will prevent your sugar level from increasing and decreasing rapidly which can cause you to want to eat more between meals.

Prevents fat accumulation. It contains a number of enzymes and natural acids that can speed up your metabolism. If your metabolic rate is increased, this means that you will burn your body fat faster and prevent any excess fat from accumulating.

Detoxifies the body. It has also been known to get rid of body toxins that affect the efficiency of the body in utilizing nutrients. The high fiber content of apple cider vinegar helps in absorbing the toxins. The high fiber content will also help you to have a regular bowel movement that can aid in maintaining or lowering your body weight.

When you are planning to incorporate this into your diet, you may want to do it gradually. You can start by adding a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water per day. As you get accustomed to its taste, you should increase the amount per serving of water and increase the frequency of drinking this with infused water on a daily basis. However, since apple cider vinegar is acidic, you should limit its concentration to about 2 tablespoons per glass of water since liquids with high acidity content can irritate your throat lining and cause damages to your teeth.

Losing hair is a dreadful physical condition that most dread. If we can still use the word lucky, then women are luckier as you seldom see total baldness as compared to men. Women usually experience a thinning across the entire scalp, while for men the sides and back are thin while the top is completely gone.

40% of women above the age of 60 will have experience some level of hair loss and most will find it difficult to accept this physical defect as seen in the high patronage of costly hair therapy or treatment salons. There are no medical cures out there but there are treatments that can help to defer the onset, slow down the progress, cover it up or restore it or transplant it either through oral, topical and even surgery. All in all, the searches for treatments have led to a substantial growth in the hair product industry.

Women lose hair for various reasons, such as postpartum (after delivering a baby), infection, illness, stress as well as after going through a crash diet. These are usually temporary and hair is restored once the conditions disappear and of course if proper care is taken, restoration would be much faster. Watch the diet to ensure sufficient vegetables and fruits are taken, at least 4-5 servings a day. Basic hair care and hygiene to be observed in this period and best not to change brand of your hair care products. Stick to what has been working well for you to avoid further stressing the hair roots with more chemicals.

If you have tried off the counter drugs to help restore your thinning hair and seems to be on the track of a losing battle, you may to give this natural remedy, an essential oil therapy a chance. Essential oils have a long history, they are nothing new and used widespread across all types of ailments, used as pain relievers, antiseptics and sleeping aids. Essential oil works in reversing and preventing hair loss and it is believed that the oils penetrate easily and diffuse into the hair surface, vibrating and emitting electro-magnetic waves that help to stimulate circulation and improve the nutrition absorption by the hair.

Here is an essential oil treatment that helps to stimulate hair roots and in doing so, promote faster hair growth as well as strengthening it. Mix 2 drops each of thyme and cedar wood essential oils together. Add 3 drops each of lavender and rosemary essential oils. For carrier oil, use 3 ml of jojoba oil and 20 ml of grape seed oil. Blend these together well and massage into your scalp for 2-3 minutes each night before bed. To aid better absorption of oil into the scalp, wrap your head in a warm towel for 15 minutes.

In closing, hair loss is an integral part of aging, something that is unavoidable. What we can do is to practise proper hair care hygiene, eat sensibly to ensure enough proteins and vitamins, use the right hair products so we can delay the onset of hair loss.

Chances are, this is where you live in Billiards. You are just beginning and have found you enjoy the game. There is more to it than that. This is a game you can come to love, but if you don’t get out of these 17 deadly mistakes…well I wouldn’t recommend you buy your own cue.

These 17 deadly mistakes show up in four major areas: Vision, Preparation, Execution and Bad Habits. That’s right, pull the sheet away and let’s take a look at them, better still, one by one, eliminate them from your game.

VISION MISTAKES

Deadly Mistake #1

Thinking like a player and not like a contender.

This is not just a game like Canasta or Monopoly.

The day of the social pool player is fading. It is being supplanted by the idea of becoming a steadily learning and improving contender. This is a concept many miss completely when starting out.

You can’t be absorbed with the idea if you win, you will hurt your friend who you happen to be beating. Settle on one objective, I CAME TO WIN!! This will help you focus on a single goal.

Deadly Mistake #2

You have not made a commitment to mastering the Basics of Billiards.

Let’s go back to Canasta a moment: We all know how to shuffle, (well most of us do) cards; we can deal the whole deck; and we can count a hand well enough to decide how we’ll play the game. We don’t have to re-learn these basic every time we sit down to play.

Billiards is and should be the same when it comes to building your foundational skills.

The rock solid basics are stance, grip, bridge, stroke and aiming–we’ll get into the right way in another article, right now we are trying to slip free of deadly mistakes.

Deadly Mistake #3

You are not dedicated to lifelong learning–Billiards is not a game of instant success. You will find steady improvement only comes over a period of years and much practice.

PREPARATION MISTAKES

Deadly Mistake #4

You don’t have a game winning strategy and don’t know where to find one. Strategy is your overall approach to the game whether you play in weekly matches, leagues or tournaments. A good strategy consists of several tactics such as Safety Play, Break and Run, and pattern play.

Deadly Mistake #5

You have not taken the time to find your unique game–Look at things not instrumental to your game, positioning of your grip hand, to cup or not cup the grip wrist, maybe a new twist to the bridge. Be an early adopter of new technology like specialized eyewear. How about the new cue extensions?

Practice to perfect right or left hand cue use. In fact, all attempts at becoming unique will involve a lot of practice to make it a habit.

Deadly Mistake #6

You have no confidence in your skill set–You lack consistency and find it difficult to maintain a game plan for more than two or three shots.

Deadly Mistake #7

You focus on any pocket-hugging ball on the table as the target of choice without regard to its higher purpose.

Deadly Mistake #8

You don’t prepare yourself by knowing your opponent’s game. Study your opponent from the chair or from the sidelines, even when you are not playing him or her.

Deadly mistake #9

You don’t persist in developing a pre-shot routine that employs all the basics. This is a must for your game. It is the starting point for every shot. If you don’t have one, eventually you will falter.

Deadly mistake #10

You fear rejection–The closer you get to a win, the greater your anxiety, you don’t want to cause disappointment in others. If you think this isn’t true, how come you have a hard time playing someone who isn’t even close to your skill level?

Deadly mistake #11

You do not make runs because you have no rhythm because you have no routine because you are too easily distracted. Watch a billiards pro. You can almost set a metronome to his or her game.

EXECUTION MISTAKES

Deadly mistake #12

You shoot poorly because you are trying to remember a dozen different stroke shot techniques instead of one: sinking the ball in front of you.

Deadly mistake #13

You leave the table before the balls stop rolling and have no idea why you missed.

Deadly Mistake #14

You set up your bridge over a ball with wobbly fingers and then go through an aiming routine that has your cue swinging like a searchlight.

Deadly Mistake #15

You pass on a simple rail shot in favor of a table length cut shot.

BAD HABIT MISTAKES

Deadly Mistake #16

You resort to the mechanical bridge when a little stretching across the table would give you a more solid base for the shot.

Deadly Mistake #17

You exhibit a negative pessimistic attitude as opposed to a positive, optimistic outlook for your game.

Arguments – The losing side of a relationship -In the 34 years that I have been doing psychic counseling, it is only in the past 10 years that I have been involved with couples counseling. One thing I have noticed with many couples, whether those couples are a man and a woman, two women, or two men, is that there is often a lack of real and meaningful communication. This lack of communication causes small conflicts to become heated arguments where issues are not resolved because both partners are trying to make their points and are not even listening to what the other person has to say. Nothing can ever be resolved when one person raises his or her voice with what only appears to the other person to be demands. The effect of this is that the other person feels as if they are being scolded like a parent scolds a child and this causes the person to close up in a defensive posturing attitude where they don’t listen to what the other person is saying. This intensifies the problem because when the person who is relating the problem area in their life feels that they are being shut out, or ignored, by their partner there is no meaningful dialog which allows a resolution to be achieved. The only resolution to the problem is for one or both partners to bring the subject up again, which might only create the same result. Instead of being resolved this issue now smolders like a hot ember, and this can make for an emotional forest fire!

The way I try to resolve issues like this is to teach couples how to discuss issues instead of just yelling and having the entire situation turning into World War III. There are several steps couples can take to have a good, open, and loving discussion, and to reduce the friction in their relationship by learning to resolve the very important issues that cause them to misunderstand each others feelings.

One of the most effective steps I teach couples is to express their anger, fears, aggravations, and concerns to their partner. This allows them the freedom of opening up without the fear of confrontation. It is a very simple method, but has certain rules which must be followed.

One of the ways I teach couples to do this is to encourage them to write a journal to document the issues in their relationship which they feel are causing problems. Detail is very important here. They must also devote an hour of uninterrupted time each week for open discussion. This discussion has to occur on the same day, and at the same time, and becomes a weekly ritual for the couple. During this hour, each of the partners has 30 minutes to read from their journal. While each partner reads their journal, the other partner cannot interrupt, or make any comments. After this hour, I encourage each partner to spend some time alone, and to reflect upon what they have just heard. They must also remember not to have any discussion about what has just been said. However, they can add some of this new information into their journals for the following week’s discussion. This method is not a quick fix for a troubled relationship, but most couples are amazed that after several months they are now working together to resolve the problems in their relationship.

One of the most complex interactions we face in life is the relationship with our partners. There is often some initial spark which brings two people together, but for a relationship to thrive it requires communication, cooperation, and compromise. This is only one of the many techniques which can be used to help couple resolve issues, but by teaching couples how to effectively communicate, it helps to strengthen the foundations of their relationship.