This eZine (No. 133)

FamilyLife:	Truth:  Dads are Sexy
Parenting:	Managing The Stress Of Parenthood
SelfGrowth:	How To Release Negativity

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Truth:  Dads are Sexy

By:  Ainsley Laing

Ok guys out there, it’s unofficially official.  Hollywood is right. Involved and caring Fathers are major “Babe Magnets”.  How do I know this?  Through observation and experimentation, of course!  A bit of background first.

This is my second marriage and I have a child from the first.  My first husband believed in traditional roles in family life. After we had a child, he left the parenting to me. This was good in many respects, but was very lonely.  Especially as my male friends and work colleagues were highly involved parents and devoted to their families.  I often spent time socializing at family events without my spouse.  He was busy working, exercising and socializing with other like - minded people.  Although this was not THE reason we divorced, it was a major problem for me in our marriage. I worried a lot about the effect of the lack of my ex’s involvement on my child’s emotional well being.

Through this experience…I grew to admire a great deal the Fathers that I knew who had developed deep relationships with their kids. It’s not easy. Kids are, well…kids.

Some time after my ex and I split, I met my current husband Dave.  After we had known one another for a few months, Dave said that when I felt like it, he wanted to start getting to know my child.   You see, he has kids from a previous marriage that he is dedicated to.  He told me that he knew that my child and I were a “package deal” and he wanted to grow a relationship with both of us.  Now guys… THAT is sexy to a single mother, believe me. I will leave to your imagination what happened next!
 
Getting back to the “experiment” and proof of the Babe Magnet Theory…  The next time you are at a family gathering where there are Dads with their kids, watch the women.  They are most likely looking at the Dads (not just their own spouse), with a facial expression that seems to be a combination of admiration and…something else. 

The women talk about it, too.  Usually they say things like, “look at John, what a NICE man he is!” Another woman will say, “yea, and a wonderful Dad”.  That’s were my experiment starts.  I follow with something like, “that Dad thing is really sexy don’t you think?” 

After a pause in the conversation and few giggles, inevitably the comments are “yea, it really IS sexy. He’s so strong and yet so patient and gentle with his kids”, and so forth.

After many conversations like this, I feel that I am beginning to understand what the “something else” facial expression in the previous paragraph is.  It’s simple: Women ADORE men who genuinely care about, and are there for their kids!

My theory as to why has yet to be tested, but here it is.  You see, gentlemen, we modern women are competent, educated, financially independent etc. Yet we still yearn for the knight in shining armor. The classic concept of knight in shining armor in this modern era is obsolete.

The one area in our lives where many of us competent, educated women feel unsure at times is parenting.  It’s a scary thing!  We talk about it constantly.  Are we doing the job well, badly, etc..? Lots of advice and experiential knowledge is always passed around.  For a man to share the daily parenting and emotionally support the Mom in her role – well, I am guessing that there’s not a Mother out there reading who would disagree that these men are the knights in shining armor of our time – our heroes! 

The world is a better place because of you – the involved and caring Dad.   All of you are heroes…and heroes are Babe Magnets.

…A toast to the great Babe Magnets of the world: past, present and future!

Happy Father’s Day.

About the Author:
Ainsley Laing has been a Fitness Trainer for 27 years and writes exclusively Body for Mind eZine. She holds certifications in Group Exercise, Sports Nutrition and Personal Fitness Training. She is also a professional engineer and mom. To see more articles by Ainsley visit http://www.bodyformind.com or the blog at http://www.bodyformind.blogspot.com

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Managing The Stress Of Parenthood

By: Andrew John

Becoming a parent brings more changes to one's life than most of us can imagine. It isn't surprising that many parents find themselves being under dreadful stress during the first years of parenthood - and oftentimes even up to the moment their kids go to the college! That's why we simply must learn how to cope with parenthood stress - it won't go away anytime soon.

First, remember that you should be calm. In situations where you can't keep yourself together much longer, just walk away and take a few deep breaths. How can you know that the time is right? It's simple: if you clench your fists and hear your voice rising, the stress attack is on the way. A few minutes more and you will lose your temper unless you go away. Remember that screaming will not do any good, even for you. If you have to scream, do it alone.

Speak your mind, even if it hurts. If you decide to let the situation spin out of control because you ignored the first signs of a problem, you're the only one to blame. You can't count on your children that they know what makes you stressed or what you want them to do unless you tell them. Avoid confrontation and you will end extremely stressed about more and more things until you won't be able to hide it anymore and explode, possibly ruining the relationships you might have with your children.

Control what's going on. Always. You do not have to interfere, but you have to be sure that your family runs according to the rules set by adults. If this seems to be in danger, react. It is not about controlling your kids on every step, it is more about making sure they know the rules and they follow them. Never ever let your children defy your rules. If they try to do so, don't waste your time on shouting. Just make sure that they can't break the rules. Use whatever means necessary to avoid such situation - fortunately a heart-to-heart discussion is enough.

The bottom line: solve the problems as soon as they appear. Do not wait for the to aggravate. If your 15-year-old daughter invites her 20-year-old boyfriend to her room for the first time, you can solve the situation and save yourself a lot of stress with a single joke or inviting your daughter and her boyfriend for a cup of coffee. If it has already happened a few times, you can't really do anything about it short of a major row - one that may have an ability to split the family apart. So, remember to never let things spin out of control!

Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db

About the Author:
Andrew John writes about stress and stress related issues. For additional info about Relagen and Natural Stress Relief , just click on the links
http://anti-stress.product-truths.com/

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Give your children the gift of Emotional Intelligence....

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How To Release Negativity

By: Michelle Beaudry

How Are You Going To Do It?
You're tired of being negative. You're ready to change. You need a plan. Read on, my friend, for this is the process of releasing negativity and restoring your spirit. Change is good.

Fear and Anger Are Killers
Ask any doctor. The stress of feeling badly all the time can easily lead to medical disorders. Your body and mind are a continuum. In other words, although they are not exactly the same, a great overlap exists between your mind and body, uniting them. Relieve your mental stress and your body will be happier, too. It's time to unburden yourself of everything that has been blocking progress in your life by keeping you attached to an unhappy past.

Feeling Better Is a Process
Negativity accumulates in our lives, in our souls, over time. The process of removing it optimally happens in layers. It's best to release as much of each stored negative emotion as you can during each sucessive attempt. And of course, you want a safe, private means of release that is as quiet and effective as possible. You can jettison all that old negativity easily and thoroughly by following simple instructions.

Visualization
Sports teams have used visualization to improve their level of excellence for decades, visualizing themselves winning trophies, for example. This same technique that so wonderfully installs positive expectation can also be used to eliminate negativity. This means that you can literally let go of old stored feelings of anger, fear, abandonment, embarrassment, and so on, that have been accumulating inside of you all of your life.

Let a Higher Power Help You
Do you prefer the word God, Source, Universe, Goddess, Higher Self, or do you have yet another name for that which is all that is? Let your choice reflect your tastes, and let your Higher Power help you. For once you release negative energy, your Higher Power can then transform it into something positive elsewhere in the Universe.

Humans Store Emotions Physically
Your body is made of cells, the cells are made of molecules, the molecules are made of atoms, and those are made up of whirling bits of energy; ergo, your body is pure energy. We humans store old memories and emotions in our bodies. That's why the releasing of negativity is a physical, visceral feeling of expelling energy, because energy is what it is, what it all is, what we all are. Ask Einstein.

Examples of What To Release
Fear, anger, rage, abandonment, rejection, guilt, shame, worry, blame, numbness, hurt, hatred, jealousy, and disgust are good places to begin. Your unique soul will know which feelings most need releasing, and in which order to do them. You may need to release some of the deepest ones several times to remove ever deeper layers.

What Does It Feel Like?
Expelling negativity is not a negative experience, it is a relief. For example, when you let go of a deep layer of fear, you do not feel afraid, you feel relieved of fear. Letting go of rage does not mean that you'll be shouting and thrashing about. Rather, your feelings of rage simply pass out of you, and it is a relief. The old negative feelings are fully released and expelled outwards. Releasing negative emotions needn't involve experiencing the pain inherent in any individual emotion. You've already experienced way too much of that. Getting rid of them feels like what it is: a release. It's like taking a gorilla off of your back. It's removing old baggage that does not serve you anymore. It actually feels good. And you will feel progressively better afterwards each time.

Follow Instructions Through the Steps
Get quiet and close your eyes. Be in a quiet, comfortable place without distractions. Vizualize that you are standing in a beautiful place with your arms up, way up, looking up at your Higher Power. Select the negative emotion you first wish to release, and make that happen. Feel it physically leaving your body, sailing up your arms, and then being jettisoned out into space, gone for good, released permanently. Repeat with all the rest of the stored emotions you wish to release. Another approach is to phrase it like this: "I release whatever is obstructing me from my goals," and let the stored emotions let you know what they are as they leave.

Then Restore Your Spirit
Once the bad layers are released, it's best to fill up the spaces they left with something wonderfully positive. May I suggest that you begin the restoration of your spirit with Personal Power, Love, Acceptance, and Inner Peace. Personal Power restores your boundaries to normal settings, Love returns you to harmony with all that is, Acceptance assures you that you are wanted and welcomed in the world, and Inner Peace encloses you in a wonderful blanket of secure and peaceful feelings. Simply visualize each of these in turn, whatever they look like to you, and bring each inside of you, merging and bonding with it, soaking in its individual positive energy, then radiating its clarity and serenity everywhere throughout your person. Think of these as permanent upgrades to your soul.

Is There An Easier Way?
Yes, there is an easier way. "Release Negativity and Restore Your Spirit" CD takes you through all the steps in under an hour. Using emotive visualization, you'll be able to have both the release and restoration experiences privately, in your own time, in your own home. You are unique, and may require repeated listenings for full relief. And full relief is what you want. Emotive visualization combines music, narration, and detailed instructions in order to open the hard drive of your subconscious mind and upgrade your files by forming new neural connections.

Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db

About the author:
Michelle Beaudry, board certified hypnotist of Orlando FL, takes clients by phone from all over the world. She wrote and narrated the "Release Negativity and Restore Your Spirit" CD. Contact her at info@beaudryhypnosis.com

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For your health and happiness,

Ainsley & Dave