Friday, February 10, 2023

"The secret to a happy life -- lessons from 8 decades 

of research

Well, one of the best theories, for which there's now some pretty good evidence, is based on the idea of stress. That, as we know, stress is an inevitable part of all of our lives. Stress happens to us every day. And what we find is that good relationships turn out to be stress regulators. So let me give you an example. Let's say that I have something upsetting happen to me during the day,and I find myself, like, ruminating about it and really thinking about it and unhappy. I can feel my body go into what we call fight or flight response where literally my heart rate goes up and I might start sweating a little bit and I'm just not feeling as well. Now, what we're meant to do is to come back to equilibriumwhen a stressor goes away. That's the way the body is supposed to work. But what happens if I go home at the end of my upsetting day and I have somebody to talk to? Either I can call someone on the phone or it's somebody I live with. I can literally feel my body calm down. I can feel that fight or flight response subside.
But what if I don't have anybody to go home to? What if there's nobody I can call? What we find is that people who are isolated, are lonely, don't have those stress regulators that we get from good relationships and that we stay in chronic fight or flight mode, that our bodies have this chronic stress, chronic levels of inflammation and circulating stress hormones that wear away our happiness and break down different body systems.
Well, what kinds of relationships seem essential to well-being?And this is interesting. We asked people who were our original participants in our study. We asked them, Who could you call in the middle of the night if you were sick or scared? And many of our people could list several other people they could call if they were in trouble. Some people couldn't list anyone. There wasn't a person on the planet who they could turn to if they were sick or scared. And what we find is that having at least one person in your life who you feel really has your back, who you could go to if you were in trouble, that's essential for maintaining our happiness and our health. When we asked these same people, when they got to be in their 80s, to look back on their lives and to tell us what they were proudest of, almost everybody said something about their relationships. They didn't say, "I made a lot of money"or "I won some big awards." They said, "I was a good mentor," "I was a good friend," "I raised healthy kids," "I was a good partner."And so what we find is that what seems to mean the most to people when they get to the end of their lives is the strength and the warmth of their connections to others."


Tuesday, February 7, 2023

WHAT IF?

    What if Russian soldiers presently risking their lives for the benefit of the rich Oligarchy in Russia, are offered amnesty and Ukrainian citizenship with a chance to live within a free Democracy? Would they accept the offer? Apparently yes! The Wagner group are not fighting for Putin's government, they are fighting for basic freedom from Russian prisons.

    What if every Russian soldier who puts down his weapon and changes sides, is provided with a new apartment and Ten Thousand Euros along with a Ukrainian citizenship passport? He or she would obtain these benefits by dropping their weapons and accepting Ukraine as an independent country. They could also find work rebuilding the country. 

   What would be Putin's reaction? What would be the consequence to his war effort? 

   Being forced to go into the Ukraine to kill or be killed for the benefit of One Man and his rich friends, is not something any thinking person would do! Young Russian people are given a horrible choice!! Join the Russian army or end up in a Russian prison.

   They could die in a Siberian Gulag or face almost certain death on the Ukraine battle field! They need a third option.

  Russian soldiers will not get rich by invading Ukraine and looting bombed out houses of innocent people! However, as new Ukrainian citizens they could have a chance at a better life!

  In this foolish war thousands of young people on both sides will die for nothing! Absolutely nothing! If however, Russian soldiers are given the chance to change sides for major benefits and a new life, it would benefit everybody and it would hasten an end to this horrifying war!! I suggest the Ukraine government use drones to drop information leaflets asking Russian soldiers if they would like to change sides without risk to their lives. All a Russian soldier would need for a safe transfer is to drop his weapon and wave the leaflet in the air. I believe, and I may be wrong: the first soldiers to change sides would be from the Wagner group. ////

Apparently I was correct. 

N. J. R.


How about we talk about Pump and Dump? The system by which very rich companies who are listed on the Stock Market, use bank consultants to sucker in small time investors.
Tesla is a good example! Tesla is absolutely the best company on Earth at this moment and they are listed on the Stock Exchange. During the last few years, as the company grew, so did it's potential value. It went soaring up on the exchange as investment managers kept pumping up the stock price until the balloon burst...but not before they and surprise, Tesla's big boss himself, Elon Musk, sold out or "dumped" the stock. He claimed he needed the cash for paying taxes but what about the thousands of "Pumpers" working as investment brokers and councillors? They have "sucker" lists of small time and naive investors (I am on one of those lists) who are simply trying to save for old age and basic survival? 
I invested in Tesla stock hoping to win enough money to buy a Tesla vehicle because like thousands of other idealists, I wanted to help clean up the planet. I did not know about Pump and Dump! I lost 40.000 Dollars and will not be able to pay for a Tesla vehicle. Apparently the Big Boss did not realize that by dumping his stock, he was shooting himself in the foot. How many others like me will not be able to buy a Tesla in the near future? I am on the list for buying a Cyber-truck but a large junk of my savings has disappeared!
Any comments? 
Signed: Nelson Joseph Raglione.

Saturday, January 28, 2023

A GOOD QUESTION?

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL, FOOD OR MONEY?

 Without plants such as Ocean Plankton and leafy Trees to create Oxygen, all Oxygen breathing creatures will suffocate. You included. The reason is simple. Many plants absorb Carbon Dioxide from the air and then they release Oxygen as a bye product. Oxygen breathing life on Earth need plants to survive and the question is are humans returning the favour? Are we doing enough to protect nature? That is a good question?

 To perpetuate themselves, not all but many land and water based plants create flowers to attract insects for pollination. Once pollinated, a flowering plant creates seeds which drop off and down close to the parent. When the Earth warms in Spring, a seed will grow roots to create another plant and the process of life on land begins again. It will unless the ground needed for new plant life is saturated with Asphalt and Cement. North American cities have become polluted garbage dumps and nothing grows in Asphalt jungles!  Asphalt, Glass, Steel and Cement dominate our cities and the race for money neglects what is most important...Oxygen producing plants.

 Life on this small Blue planet is dependant on plants and Millions of people today enjoy flowering plants because flowers create peace of mind and are linked to both life and love. Flowers are distributed around the world and flowers in full bloom have more power than Atomic Bombs. Flowers represent love and life and are metaphorically opposed to guns and bombs. Everybody uses flowers and only a small minority of maniacs create and threaten to use Atomic Bombs. 

Are Atomic Bombs the worst threat to life on Earth? No! The worst threat to life on Earth is out-of-control industrialism. In North America and Europe millions of cars producing the deadly gas Carbon Monoxide continue to roll on Asphalt and/or Cement roads. The conversion to Electric non-polluting vehicles is dangerously slow!

 The abundance of highways and roads on the Western continent often lead to suburban industrial developments. Except for cleaning staff at night, no human beings are allowed on the premises of these super large industrial buildings. The same goes for shopping centres where in daylight business hours, thousands of cars are parked outside the buildings as consumers rush in to buy almost anything, however, at night...nothing! Empty spaces both inside and out! In Winter, unlucky Itinerants can freeze to death if they are unlucky enough to be stationed outside of these massive empty warm buildings where the doors are heartlessly locked tight. This can and must be modified for the better.

 For lower middle class people there may continue to exist a few rental apartments. For middle and upper middle class people there does exist: single house units, town houses, duplex buildings, quadruplex buildings and Condominiums. When space is limited the all pervasive and tall Condominiums pop up to dominate the landscape. Condos are created and sold by corporations who don't rent but sell the apartments and as a consequence the land to build more Condos becomes scarce! Arable land becomes a precious commodity. Natural forests always cease to exist near these buildings. Unless protected by government, precious arable land and Green spaces are often sold to corporate land speculators. Elderly farmers who want or need to retire often sell out. When poverty stricken home owners no longer have the physical strength or the economic means to maintain their homes, they also sell out!  When apartment block owners are faced with the daunting task of renovating old fixed rate apartments, they often sell out to make room for Condos.  Land owners who can't pay taxes often have no choice but to sell out to exploitive companies who chase profit.

 There are millions of Oxygen producing Trees in North America being destroyed to make way for profit making Condos. At least in Europe Trees are treated with respect and in Africa, in central Congo, millions of Trees continue to exist but they also need to be protected. Why is the Congo different from North America? Because through the central Congo Jungle there is only one swampy and extremely dangerous dirt road. The poor people of central Congo are desperate for one decent road. They can  survive by living with and by the Jungle as opposed to destroying the Jungle but they need at minimum one good road which will lead to a hospital. They could use a good cement road or better yet, a train line through the jungle from village to village leading to a hospital. Conclusion! North America has too many roads while Central Congo in Africa has almost zero roads! The Congo has millions of Oxygen producing Trees while North America is not doing enough to protect their forested lands! 

 World Industrialism is creating global warming and slowly destroying flower producing life on this Earth. For centuries mankind protected himself from the cold in Winter and the heat in Summer by destroying forests and using the Trees for building houses and villages and cities and today that mind-set has to stop! We need to think upwards or downwards as opposed to outwards. For example, we can easily build sky scraping Condos with a Hydroponic garden on every fourth floor. Garden floors will provide much needed vegetables and Greenery for apartment dwellers and with today's new technology, these buildings cold be self sustaining with Solar Panels covering the outside of the buildings and Wind Turbines providing Electric energy from the roof. They could also provide limited employment for those in need of work.

   After upwards, downwards becomes feasible. Our municipal governments can and should plan downwards with underground sleeping rooms for thousands of people, including itinerants. Living and sleeping areas can be filled with natural light using fiberoptic cables. Today, industrial parks and city sky scrapers are used solely for business and industry and they remain warm and well lit but also inhumanely empty at night! For the average person, expensive and crowded Condominium buildings have replaced apartment buildings and are now almost everywhere without a thought for Trees and Green spaces and for people who cannot afford to buy a Condo apartment!

  Profit is the driving motivation! These buildings are destroying Nature and leaving lower class people on the streets without shelter. They are literally creating itinerants!!

 WE HAVE CUT DOWN FORESTS WITHOUT REPLACING THE TREES AND WE HAVE AND ARE POISONING THE AIR AND WATER TO MAINTAIN INDUSTRIAL PROFITS. MONEY HAS REPLACED FOOD PRODUCING GARDENS AND IN SEARCH OF MORE MONEY, INDUSTRIAL PARKS TODAY ARE EATING UP  LAND SPACE IN NORTH AMERICA. WE ARE LOSING ARABLE LAND FOR AGRICULTURE AS WELL AS OXYGEN CREATING FORESTS FOR OUR BASIC SURVIVAL. NATURE DOES NOT CARE IF YOU ARE RICH OR POOR AND WEALTH WILL NOT PROTECT YOU FROM A FLOOD OR FIRE!. IT IS ONLY RESPECT AND CARE FOR NATURE WHICH WILL PROTECT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND HOPEFULLY, YOUR GRAND CHILDREN!

The need for arable farm land creates cruel and devastating territorial wars and it is far passed the time we humans created life enhancing social and political solutions. Thanks for reading!

 Signed: Nelson Joseph Raglione

human4usbillions@gmail.com                  human4us2.blogspot.com

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Friday, January 13, 2023

 

IT BREAKS MY HEART!

 The murder in the Ukraine of men and women, Russian and Ukrainians, breaks my heart!

There is only one way to stop the slaughter and that is to capture the individual most responsible for the massacre...Vladimir Putin.

 Capturing Putin is a problem but if we understand how power needs money, there is a solution. We have to create a 100 Million Euro reward fund for the capture, dead or alive, of Vladimir Putin.

 I've dedicated my life to world peace and so I am hoping somebody else will create the fund and manage the reward. Maybe somebody working for the United Nations.

Thanks for reading!

Nelson Joseph Raglione.  

  

From Eric Barker...How to live a long and awesome life.

  Here’s how to live a long awesome life: Socialize :  Instead of staring into the soulless eyes of your smartphone, spend more time with fr...