Revealing My Dream -- A Personal Development Challenge

My friend and fellow personal development blogger, Neil Sattin tagged me for the Reveal Your Dream Challenge. I love the idea and the most difficult thing is coming up with my #1 Dream because I have 2 I fantasize about every day so I'm breaking the rules to include my TWO DREAMS...

My first dream is to see my invention that I have been working SOOOO hard on for the last 3 years manufactured and on the shelves selling like hot cakes! I have the working prototype and am patent-pending currently thanks to a wonderful invention company; Davison. I have been told it is a WONDERFUL idea by the TOP companies in the field but am STILL at a stand still. The technology has changed significantly in the last year making my product EVEN more desirable for consumers but also requiring the need for me to change my prototype to get a real feel for what it would be like. Also the price point is high now and the product will need testing so I am asking companies to lay out upwards of $5 million to see it through to the first launch... a tall order but one I feel they would earn back 100 times over. What do I want in a manufacturer? Honesty, integrity, quality control and for them to be JUST as excited about the project as I am!

My second dream is to meet one or ALL of my 3 favorite heroes (Oprah Winfrey, Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra) because of the work I have done with helping people heal their pain. I REALLY want to make a difference and teach people about all the many natural methods there are for pain relief and pain management out there. Healing myself of chronic pain was my greatest accomplishment. I have helped a few people already and there is nothing more rewarding than someone saying "I feel so much better and I know now how to manage my health naturally -- thank you". Deepak Chopra's writings on the mind/body connection and his guided meditations truly helped me heal and I continue to read and learn from him. I have Wayne Dyer quotes taped in front of my desk and his words always resonate within me. I also share Dr. Dyer's book "Incredible You "with my children (it is their favorite book). It is an excellent way to teach children of the powers within to heal and deal with life. Oprah Winfrey has been my idol for so many years for numerous reasons including how real she is and how she helps others. To have the opportunity to meet one of these people that have inspired me would mean I MADE a difference for thousands of people and that is my intention. I would like to be able to say "Thank you" in person and to be looked at by them as someone who DID something to help people.

So that's the 2 -- I'm not asking TOO much am I? I can't really choose one since they are both daily dreams.... I hope and will continue to dream that someday they BOTH will come true! Thanks Neil -- it is wonderful to dream and to reveal them and share them with others somehow seems to make them more real.... GREAT Challenge!

Here are the rules according to Neil: ; )

The Rules

1. Reveal your dream for the world to see, either on your blog (if you’re a blogger) or in the comments of a blog (like this one).
2. Remember, it’s a dream - so aim high! If your inner critic tells you that your dream isn’t “realistic”, tell your inner critic to take a hike. State one of your wildest dreams AS IS.
3. Tag some other bloggers, or friends. Don’t forget this step!
4. Links back to this post are appreciated, but not essential. You could just mention that you’re responding to the Reveal Your Dream challenge on NeilSattin.com.
5. That’s it - start manifesting

6. One last thing

   You’re allowed to have many dreams, but you don’t have to reveal EVERYTHING for the world to see - just pick one of them for this challenge. Also, the beauty of being human and having the freedom of choice is that you can always change your mind - and by setting the wheels in motion for the dream you mention you’ll be able to make an informed choice. Reveal your dream for the world to see. It’s risky, but I promise you’ll thank me down the road. Oh, and please keep in touch - I want to hear how it all goes!

I think this is a great challenge and am tagging the following people to keep it going:
Greg Butler at Holistic Personal Development
Tina Su at Think Simple Now
Leena at Conceptis Addict
Karl Staib at Mind and Body Health
Simon at The Secret of Life

Can't wait to hear all your dreams!

Can Puzzles and Games Heal?

It is so wonderful to see my 2 passions meet -- games and natural healing. I maintain a blog on kids non-violent computer games and have loved games since I can remember. To find Gil Galante who is an expert on games and puzzles (as his site ConceptisPuzzles clearly shows) was SUCH a blessing. In September Gil posted an article on his blog (Individual At Home) titled, "Puzzles as Pain Relievers" which says it all.

Last week when I talked about ways to stay sharp mentally I mentioned games like Sudoku, Chess, etc. It didn't even dawn on me to talk about the ways that games can actually distract you, entertain you, relieve stress and actually act as a painkiller as Gil points out.

We play a LOT of games in our house. From board games, logic games, puzzles, adventure games to games on the Wii where the 4 of us are up jumping around the living room. Playing games puts the whole family in a GREAT mood (Ok -- maybe not all the time as my 8 and 4 year old are still learning how not to win gracefully). I encourage games and puzzles that work the brain for my kids. I will let them play something mindless occasionally but only if they've recently played other educational games.

The Law of Attraction states how what you concentrate on expands. When I was ill I was very aware of my chronic pain and spent a lot of time lying or sitting down. Doing Sudoku was one of the things that did help. When I was playing I had to concentrate in order to solve the puzzle and while I might have been aware I wasn't feeling GREAT-- by focusing on something else my pain went to the back of my mind. I highly recommend reading Gil's article... "Puzzles as Pain Relievers". Funnily enough I never thought of them as such but looking back they sure helped me get through some rough days!

There are tons of different puzzles you can find online for free. Some take only a few seconds and some can take hours. I'd recommend finding a site you like -- like ConceptisPuzzles, Shockwave, or the many others available and playing a little while. A few minutes will give you the distraction you need, relax you, get your brain going and entertain you at the very least. I always leave a puzzle game feeling a little more awake, relaxed and focused and ready to get back to work! ; )

Prescription Drugs Numb Pain But Do Not Heal Pain

I wrote at Ezine article by this same title "Prescription Drugs Numb Pain But Do Not Heal Pain" a few months back. It occurred to me as I came across the post today that while this is SUCH an important issue for me -- I have never discussed it on my blog.

Since writing the article I have seen even more people around me be affected by prescription drug use. In addition to the CDC's Study on The Overuse of Prescription Painkillers, I recommend reading the more political take on the situation set forth by Dr. Mercola. Dr. Mercola is one of the leading contributors on health, health products and living well articles and resources and this video is about the town of Allopath.


Certainly there are very real conditions that warrant pain killers. Believe me -- I was in chronic pain for years and I know and remember clearly JUST how debilitating chronic pain can be. My message is one I have said before in my post on finding a GOOD Doctor that Treats the WHOLE You. PLEASE if you are ill or you know someone that is ill seek out other holistic treatments as well. Make SURE you have a good doctor that isn't just labeling you and handing you pills. What OTHER pain management techniques can you learn so you can limit these medications? ASK your doctor! What work can you do on your emotional state that might help the physical feel better? Being in pain can cause depression and stress which worsens most conditions. Are you open to learning methods on the mind/body connection that even if they don't heal you 100% will undoubtedly make you feel significantly better? 99% of the information I found was free online. What do you have to lose?

When I was taking pain killers I did feel better physically for the period of time they worked for -- then I plummeted into a worse pain. My tolerance built up so quickly and I hate to think what kind and what dosage of pills I would be on now if I had continued. I was 35 when doctors started offering me any pain pill I wanted.

I know people that have been put on hydrocodone or some other pain prescription for an injury and YEARS later are still struggling with dependence issues WAY after the pain has been gone. I've been talking to lots of people about health the last year and in my journey have heard horror story after horror story. People who have lost close friends or family (we're talking mid-20-40 year olds) to overdoses of these pills. People who have lost friends or family because of the gastrointestinal damage these pills do long term. People who have had friends or family develop worse conditions from their long term use. Teachers who have seen KIDS in their schools on these medications they took from their parents or a friend's parents.

The more studies that are done the more results are showing that these prescription pain killers have horrible long term effects on your body. I feel everyone owes it to their own body to be as healthy as they can be and if needed take medications to supplement that. I am still on coumadin for my blood disorder (don't get me started on that drug since it is really "rat poison"). I have my blood monitored regularly and HOPE someday to be free of it. But I am on no more pain pills. I have taken regular Tylenol twice since healing myself and have just had my first mini-illness a few weeks back. This is from someone who has always gotten colds, bugs and was in chronic head-to-toe pain for several years. In January I will celebrate a year of GREAT health!

It is possible to be pain pill free for MANY people who suffer from chronic pain -- not ALL but MANY. Find a good Doctor. If it's a loved one that's ill present them with information on alternative healing. There are so many methods -- find what rings true to you. Study Deepak Chopra, visit Dr. Mercola's site, see The Secret, study up on EFT or the Sedona Method, make a gratitude list so when you're really down you have somewhere to look for encouragement, find a meditation on youtube that relaxes you, pay attention to the influences around you, .... there are countless ways to heal yourself for free with NO medications....

If you are on a lot of prescription medications you must consult your doctor because serious withdrawal symptoms may occur. When I was on pain killers they numbed my pain and allowed me to get through my day. Now that I healed myself I am pain free and enjoy every day to its fullest naturally without worrying about side effects.

I am always available for anyone that wants to investigate ways to better their health. Just send me an email at jennymannion@yahoo.com and I will be more than happy to answer any questions you have and give you tons of resources that helped me. My goal is to empower others to find out all they can about alternative medicine and natural ways to heal.