Dr. Neil Stanley, who sleeps separately from his wife, points out that historically we were never meant to share our beds. He said the modern tradition of the marital bed only began with the industrial revolution, when people moving to overcrowded towns and cities found themselves short of living space.

If you’ve been sleeping together and you both sleep perfectly well, then don’t change, but don’t be afraid to do something different.

Before the Victorian era it was not uncommon for married couples to sleep apart. In ancient Rome, the marital bed was a place for sexual congress but not for sleeping.
Dr Stanley, who set up one of Britain’s leading sleep laboratories at the University of Surrey, said the people of today should consider doing the same.

“It’s about what makes you happy. If you’ve been sleeping together and you both sleep perfectly well, then don’t change, but don’t be afraid to do something different. “We all know what it’s like to have a cuddle and then say ‘I’m going to sleep now’ and go to the opposite side of the bed. So why not just toddle off down the landing?”

Tossing and turning
He said poor sleep was linked to depression, heart disease, strokes, lung disorders, traffic and industrial accidents, and divorce, yet sleep was largely ignored as an important aspect of health. Dr Robert Meadows, a sociologist at the University of Surrey, said: “People actually feel that they sleep better when they are with a partner but the evidence suggests otherwise.”

He carried out a study to compare how well couples slept when they shared a bed versus sleeping separately. Based on 40 couples, he found that when couples share a bed and one of them moves in his or her sleep, there is a 50% chance that their slumbering partner will be disturbed as a result.

Despite this, couples are reluctant to sleep apart, with only 8% of those in their 40s and 50s sleeping in separate rooms, the British Science Festival heard.

– Article found on the Internet, author not listed

Dr. Orozco began his talk by confirming that the conservation of the Tilma, the cloak of St. Juan Diego on which Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared 478 years ago, “is completely beyond any scientific explanation.”

“All the cloths similar to the Tilma that have been placed in the salty and humid environment around the Basilica have lasted no more than ten years,” he explained. One painting of the miraculous image, created in 1789, was on display in a church near the basilica where the Tilma was placed. “This painting was made with the best techniques of its time, the copy was beautiful and made with a fabric very similar to that of the Tilma. Also, the image was protected with a glass since it was first placed there.”

However, eight years later, the copy of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was thrown away because the colors were fading and threads were breaking. In contrast, Orozco said, “the original Tilma was exposed for approximately 116 years without any kind of protection, receiving all the infrared and ultraviolet radiation from the tens of thousands of candles near it and exposed to the humid and salty air around the temple.”

The Fabric
Dr. Orozco then discussed the Tilma’s fabric. He noted that “one of the most bizarre characteristics of the cloth is that the back side is rough and coarse, but the front side is ‘as soft as the most pure silk, as noted by painters and scientists in 1666, and confirmed one century later in 1751 by the Mexican painter, Miguel Cabrera.”

Following an analysis of some of the fibers in 1946, it was concluded that the fibers came from the Agave plant, however, noted Dr. Orozco, the researchers couldn’t figure out which of the 175 Agave species the Tilma was made from. Years later, in 1975, “the famous Mexican researcher Ernesto Sodi Pallares said that the species of the agave was Agave popotule Zacc,” Orozco explained, “but we don’t know how he reached this conclusion.”

Two Miracles
Before concluding his presentation, Dr. Orozco made mention of two miracles associated with the Tilma.

The first occurred in 1785 when a worker accidentally spilled a 50 percent nitric acid solvent on the right side of the cloth. “Besides any natural explanation, the acid has not destroyed the fabric of the cloth, indeed it has not even destroyed the colored parts of the image,” Orozco said.

The second miracle was the explosion of a bomb near the Tilma in 1921. Dr. Orozco recalled that the explosion broke the marble floor and widows 150 meters from the explosion, but “unexpectedly, neither the Tilma nor the normal glass that protected the Tilma was damaged or broken.” The only damage near it was a brass crucifix that was twisted by the blast.

He continued, “There are no explanations why the shockwave that broke windows 150 meters afar did not destroy the normal glass that protected the image. Some people said that the Son by means of the brass crucifix protected the image of His Mother. The real fact is that we don’t have a natural explanation for this event.”

Dr. Orozco thanked the audience for listening to his presentation and closed by reassuring them that “Our Lady visited Mexico 478 years ago, but she remains there to give Her Love, Her Mercy and Her Care to anyone who needs it, and to bring Her Son, Jesus Christ to everyone who receives Him.”

–EWTN

Oh, there’s MUCH more to know about Sheriff Joe!

Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay.

The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who’d like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.

The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78.

The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.

I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand.

He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 – $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison..

Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.

Now he’s in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn’t doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He’s kind of a ‘Git-R Dun’ kind of Sheriff.

TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO. HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the ‘ Tent City Jail’:

• He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
• He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights. Cut off all but ‘G’ movies.
• He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.
• Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn’t Get Sued For Discrimination.
• He took away cable TV Until he found out there was A Federal Court Order that Required Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again. Only Let In The Disney Channel And The Weather Channel. When asked why the weather channel he Replied, “So They Will Know How Hot It’s Gonna Be While They Are Working On My Chain Gangs.”
• He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value. When the inmates complained, he told them, ‘This Isn’t The Ritz/Carlton…… If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Come Back.’

More On The Arizona Sheriff:

With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports:
About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts.

On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees Inside The Week Before. Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS.

‘It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,’ Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The TENTS for 1 year. ‘It’s Inhumane.’

Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: ‘It’s 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn’t Commit Any Crimes, So Shut Your Mouths!’

Way To Go, Sheriff!

Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes – not live in luxury until it’s time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can’t afford to have for themselves.

Leave a comment. Tell me what you think.

Please leave a comment. Tell me what you think!

There was a disproportion to the wealth of the country and its people compared to how it’s people felt the most gratitude for their lives and situation. It seems the poorest countries had the largest percentage of it’s populace expressing gratitude for their lives. India was in the teens and Bangladesh was fifth!

I find this fascinating: Americans possibly the most free and privileged people in history to have the least gratitude for all they have.

Wow! This really kind of blows me away. But you know I can sort of see it. We have all these material possessions but how many of us are really happy? Is it possible that our consumer oriented society breeds such discontent? Or is it just conditioning for us to not allow ourselves to feel satisfied.

Dissatisfaction breeds discontent, discontent among free people can also breed innovation. Innovation breeds advance and progress. But can we be dissatisfied and still be grateful for what we have now?

Just look around you and see all there is to be grateful for. Gratitude breeds appreciation and joy and not only that it’ss healthier. To be grateful takes a certain humility I think, or maybe I should say humbleness.

It’s been scientifically proven that an attitude of gratitude is one of the healthiest things physically and psychologically one can do for not only oneself but for the people and the world around them. Just google gratitude and you’ll see many references and articles about this.

We all want to be happy. Could being grateful throughout the day be the quickest road to happiness? Turns out science says “yes.” Those who are the most grateful for whatever is in their lives seem to be the most happy.

And what can we be grateful for? For our lives, for the people in our lives, for our homes, our cars, our friends, family, for simple things like the coffee or tea we drink, for our health, for the blood flowing through our veins, for this incredible thing we call a computer and all the technology we have that makes our lives easier.

We can even be thankful for the things we want to manifest in our lives, our goals and dreams. Why not be grateful for them even before receiving them?  We can say, “I am so grateful for my extraordinary prosperity and abundance.”

You might want to set aside a time of the day where you take a few minutes to write out all you are grateful for. Once it becomes a habit you can leave off the writing and just do it mentally.

Tony Robbins gives an exercise where the first thing you do in the morning is take a walk and go through all the things in your life you are grateful for. It turns out that once you can find one are two things to be grateful for your mind will start flooding you with more. Eventually it just becomes a way of life.

For some real inspiration about someone whose gratitude is infectious check out Nick Vujicic, a beautiful man born with no arms and legs who has become an inspiring public speaker.

Leave a comment. Tell me what you think!