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Posted on 04/01/2008 4:05:44 AM PDT by JustAmy
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If you go, Victoria Park Restaurant has “the Best Seats” among wonderful floral gardens in Queen Victoria Park (Canada) for views of both the American and Horseshoe Falls, including the nightly fireworks and/or Falls Illumination.
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Dear Mr O.
Those pictures and your recommendation makes me more eager to make that trip.
BM, one of my goals was to visit all 50 states; I still have about 18 to go. Maybe someday .... ;^)
Thank you.
Sincerely,
JustPocahontas
Yorkie, your Post #1473 is Beautiful.
Amy, your Post #1498 Reminded me of the Places I See when my Husband and I Go on our Weekend Drives in the Country. We See Some Old Homes in Pretty Good Shape, and Others that are Falling Down, and still Others where All that Remains is just a Chimney and a Well. My Neighbor Said that One Particular House that's still Barely Standing a Few Miles from Here is the Original Home that was in this Area, Before Others were Built. There was a House on my Property, but it Burned Down over 30 Years Ago. It is Interesting to Wonder and Think about the People who Lived in these Places. My Neighbor Told me that a House used to be on his Property, and that 3 Brothers Lived there, and that All 3 Died from Eating or Drinking Something Bad. That's a Bit of History I wouldn't Mind not having Learned, Lol.
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Thank you, Kitty. It’s been one of my most favorite poems since I first read it (probably a hundred years ago!)
My favorite poet is James Whitcomb Riley. His poetry is so ‘down home’.........such as “Little Orphant Annie” (The goblin’s will get you if you don’t watch out!) Another one......”The Raggedy Man”. I have every edition of his books, (signed) and they are a treasure.
LOL! Gurl, you crack me up!
I will be back shortly.
I need to make a grocery store run .....
Marissa and I are going to the neighborhood park to have a picnic with a friend of hers. I need to get some chips and make a dip.
Hope everyone is enoying Eggs Benedict Day as well as Garden Month and Wilbur Wright’s Birthday.
Be back soon.
Lol, 'Sugar Candy' Sounds Cute! : ) For the Last Few Hours she was Watching the Neighbor's Dog, Daisy, Persecuting my Squirrels, Lol; Daisy had 5 or 6 of them Treed, but they Finally Gained a Reprieve when she Went Home to Eat. Now my Sweet Dog is Asleep, Probably for the Afternoon. My Heart is Sorry that she has to be Tied Up for Several Days; she Wants to Join her Friend Daisy So Badly; they Play Together for Hours Everyday. But she Must be Leashed until her Stitches are Healed Up Well. I Never had to Confine Any of my Kitties I had Spayed and Neutered through the Years, so Dogs are Obviously Much More Rambunctious.
It instantly turned into
an enormous lunchroom feud,
as students started hurling
all their halfway-eaten food.
A glob went whizzing through the air,
impacting on the wall.
Another chunk went sailing out
the doorway to the hall.
The food was splattered everywhere—
the ceilings, walls, and doors.
A sloppy, gloppy mess was on
the tables and the floors.
And so our good custodian
ran out to grab his mop.
It took him half the afternoon
to clean up all the slop.
The teachers even used some words
we’re not supposed to mention.
And that’s how all the kids and teachers
wound up in detention.
Laughter is a healing activity. You may have seen the movie called "Patch Adams," which is a movie about a real life doctor who still practices today and uses laughter as healing. He's quite correct in using laughter as a healing therapy, because it is one of the most healing activities in which you can engage.
Laughter operates on at least three different levels. They are the biophysical, the biochemical, and the bioenergetic levels.
Laughter moves lymph and oxygenates your organs
At the biophysical level, laughter moves lymph fluid around your body simply by the convulsions you experience during the process of laughing; so it boosts immune system function and helps clear out old, dead waste products from organs and tissues. Remember that your lymph system doesn't have a separate pump; your body needs to move around to properly circulate lymph fluid so that your immune system can carry out its natural functions. Laughter is a great way to support that.
Secondly, laughter increases oxygenation of your body at both the cellular and organ level. By laughing, you intake vast amounts of oxygen in huge gulps, and you repeat this process in a sort of temporary hyperventilation session. This is the natural result of laughter, and if you watch someone laugh, you will notice these biophysical effects.
Now, why is oxygen so good for your body? Oxygen is one of the primary catalysts for biological energy in the human body. Remember, we breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, so oxygen is an element of intracellular energy that's absolutely necessary to sustain human life.
It's also interesting to note that cancer cells are destroyed in the presence of oxygen. In fact, many parasites and bacteria don't survive well in the presence of oxygen, and to the extent that you can circulate extra oxygen throughout your body, you can help prevent, or in some cases treat, these diseases.
This is one reason why we see an increasing number of so-called "oxygen bars" in the United States and other countries. People enjoy going to these bars and breathing a much higher concentration of oxygen, because they say it gives them greater mental clarity. They like the feeling of this extra oxygen: it's almost like that "natural high," as they say. Now, personally, I've tried this myself and I didn't notice any effect whatsoever. But it could be because my body is able to carry oxygen so efficiently in the blood that I'm already experiencing peak oxygenation and didn't get any extra benefit from a higher concentration in the air I was inhaling. But, who knows? You might experience a benefit or I might have been at a lousy oxygen bar. But the point is, oxygen is good for you, and when you laugh, you get more oxygen into the cells of your body. If you can laugh at an oxygen bar, that's even better!
Laughing also boosts circulation, so at the same time that you're distributing oxygen around your body, you're boosting the circulation of your blood; you're exercising abdominal muscles; you're exercising the muscles of your face; and you're enhancing the flexibility of various joints throughout your body. So it's a bit of physical exercise and healthful body movement as well.
The harder you laugh, the greater this effect. If you can find a way to put yourself into a state of rolling, outrageous laughter, you're going to get a fantastic physical workout from it. In fact, the next day, you may even find your stomach muscles are sore. Have you ever laughed so hard that your stomach hurt and your facial muscles were exhausted? That's some serious exercise, and it's the kind of exercise in which we should all engage on a regular basis.
The chemistry of laughter
Now let's look at the biochemical impact of laughter. When you laugh, there's a lot more going on in your body than just the physical effect. You're also experiencing a biochemical benefit.
Your body manufactures chemicals based on certain needs and then distributes them throughout your body. When you laugh, you generate a wealth of healing biochemicals. I've often stated that for every minute of laughter, you produce somewhere around $10,000 worth of healthy body chemistry, and what I mean is that if you had to go out and actually purchase these refined chemical compounds from labs or pharmaceutical companies, you would have to pay at least $10,000 for the very same chemistry that your brain is producing free of charge when you engage in laughter.
Some of these are brain-altering chemicals such as serotonin; others are immune-boosting chemicals such as interleukins. If you were to make a long list of all the chemicals created by engaging in healthy laughter, you would have quite a list of healthy body chemicals that would carry a hefty price tag if you purchased them retail. And yet, once again, you can create these chemicals for yourself at no cost by simply engaging in laughter.
You will find that these chemicals have extraordinary positive healing effects on your body and mind. They will boost immune system function; they will improve your outlook on life; they will tend to diminish any symptoms of depression; and because they help reduce stress, they will also prevent all of the various diseases and disorders that are caused by chronic stress.
In other words, laughter can help counteract the destructive, negative health consequences of chronic stress. And what I've described here just scratches the surface of the benefits that are available to those who engage in regular laughter. Check out the science field called psychoneuroimmunology to learn more on this. It's a fascinating specialty that looks at the link between the mind and immune system function. What researchers have found in this field is that your state of mind has everything to do with the functioning of your immune system. By engaging in laughter, you can boost both your mind and your body.
But what if you can't find anything to laugh about? Rent some funny movies. Join a comedy improv class. Imagine all your older friends wearing no clothes. Buy some silly finger puppets and invent a funny skit. Learn from children: they still know how to play and laugh. Find a way to get laughter into your life, even if it means being a little weird.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z007551.html
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