Commuter Chronicles

PLEASE PASS ON A COPY OF COMMUTER CHRONICLES
Commuter Chronicles March 2006 \| Volume 1 \| Issue 6
In this issue: • From the Desk of Dr. M... • Something to Think About • Feature Article • Pass it On... • Health Tips • Cost Cutters • Dr. M Recommends • What's Happening	FROM THE DESK OF DR. M... There is so much going on at Commuter Assist. I hope I can remember it all to tell you. The monthly teleconferences started on 6 April. See below for information on what occurred. The e-book that I’ve gotten so many calls about is in its final stages. The survey is producing some good information that we will be able to use to continue developing the site. Don’t forget to tell your friends to fill it out. And speaking about telling your friends, have you passed it on? We are in the midst of our Pass It On campaign and only you can help us to reach our goals. So you see? We really do have so much going on! How about you? Do you find yourself having so much going on that you sometimes wonder how you’ll ever get things done? Do you have a To Do list that knows no end? Maybe it’s time for a break. Can’t take a week or even a weekend? How about a few hours? For some time now, I’ve been rewarding myself after each accomplishment. It’s a reward, but also a definite ending as well as the start of the next step. Here’s an example. After Thursday night’s teleconference – were you there? – I was on a high. It was another step in developing this service for commuters. There are many steps and players to putting something like this together and one never knows until it’s over if it worked out and how well. I had been excited but also apprehensive. I’d gone through my checklist and practiced my “lines.” Everything was set. But would the conference lines work, would the recording be clear, would the guest show up! I think I deserve a reward. Everything was perfect. After I got off the call, I sent some “Thank you’s,’ then I closed up shop and did not another thing until the next morning. It made me feel that I had completed one step and was ready for the next. Might this be something you could use? Having a distinct end to a job and rewarding yourself, even if for just an hour or two? It’s these little changes in our lives that can make such a difference. In this issue, we will discuss such changes and differences. Have you heard of “Spiritual Wellness?” In an article by Adina Tarpley, the life and spirituality coach, it is explained and the reasons to address this wellness are laid out. For many, this has been the part that has been missing in developing a satisfying life. You may want to call her to see how she might help you bring the spiritual in line with other parts of your life. In cost cutters, I remind you, just a bit tongue in cheek, that you need to move on your tax returns if you live in the United States. I would also like you all to join me in a promise to have a system in place for this year’s taxes so next year might be a little easier to report. Now, what better way to save time. Our health tip for this issue is water. Wonderful, refreshing water. If you’ve been ignoring this plentiful resource that just springs from every faucet in our homes and office buildings, hopefully ‘Water, Water” will bring it back onto your favorites list. We’ve updated the Pass It On campaign, check it out. We tell you something about Commuters in the Know LIVE! If you missed it, you missed a very good call. Do join us next month. This issue’s recommendation is one of a kind. I hope you get it. So until next issue, Happy Easter and Happy Hanukah! Be well! Dr. M.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom -Robert Frost April is Poetry Month so we are printing a poem from Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. We are also listing some poetry sites that will be interesting for you to visit. If you’ve subscribed to Five Steps to a Better Commute, you will remember the commuter who wrote poetry on his commute. What better way to ease the stress and take back the time. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth. Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference Called Moving Words, Virginia Transit displays commuter poems on bus posters to over 1 million Transit riders a month. Click here This is another commuter poet. Click here Slugging is a Washington D. C. area phenomenon. Drivers stop at designated areas to pick up people going in their direction. It is organized and it works. Here are poems from some Sluggers. Click here
PASS IT ON... Last month we started our Pass It On campaign and we asked you to help us get Commuter-Assist.com known to those we serve. Today we report that you are hearing our request. Our Alexa ranking (remember the lower the ranking the more popular the site) has moved down from 273,120 on 8 March to 240,282 as of today, 10 April, a drop of almost 33,000 in one month’s time. We thank you. We are very aware that nothing can happen without you . All are work is for naught without you.	FEATURE ARTICLE WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WELLNESS? Physical wellness is being alive and well in one’s body. To maintain physical health I must pay attention to what my body is saying. Spiritual health is being alive and well in one’s spirit. To maintain my spiritual health I must take time to listen to my inner voice (the higher self, my own spirit, or actual self). For now let us call this interior being “Spirit”. Are you aware of your Spirit? Do you hear whispers from inside? What might your Spirit want? The Spiritual Self requires a different kind of care than what is given the body. Our spirits have an innate drive to Evolve and Grow. Many people find this growth through quiet time in prayer or meditation, through study or journaling. What are you doing to cultivate this desire to grow in your life? Another way of caring for our Spirits is to develop a Desire to be Helpful and Compassionate towards others. What are you doing to help you become aware of the needs of your neighbors, your community, and beyond? Is what you are giving, given freely? Our outer life needs to reflect our inner life. We need congruence between our Values and Ethics and our daily living. In what ways do you live out your Values and Ethics? Are there ways that you “blow it”, thereby hurting your Spiritual Self? Spirituality is found within the unknown, living in mystery. This can be both exciting and unnerving. We are uncomfortable with ambiguity; we want answers to everything. We want to be able to control what happens to us. The nature of the Spiritual is always, at some level, unknowable. Your Spiritual Health depends on receiving knowledge of growth from Universal Spirit. Depending on your beliefs, you may name this Universal Spirit as God, Holy Spirit, Holy ones, or Enlightened Beings. How do you open the door to this Universal Spirit? We all must exercise to maintain Physical Fitness. Shouldn’t we also exercise to maintain Spiritual Fitness? What are you doing to develop your Spiritual Fitness? We all need to grow into Spiritual wellness. There are those who can help you find your path. You are not alone on your journey. About the Author: Adina Tarpley is a Life and Spirituality Coach. Call her for information about individual coaching sessions at 414-443-0980 or e-mail adinat@mindspring.com. ©2006 Adina D. Tarpley All Rights Reserved
COST CUTTERS Happy Easter – Tax Day is Here Can you believe it? Sunday is Easter and Monday is tax day in the United States. My wish for all our readers who are still working on taxes is that you give yourselves Saturday, the latest, as your deadline so that you can enjoy Easter without this chore hanging over you. My wish for us all is that we use this ending of 2005 taxes to set up some system for this year’s taxes to make them a bit easier to organize. I have a colleague who uses the shoe box system. Anything that might be needed for taxes is just stuffed into the shoe box. Well, at least everything is together. The next step up, is the file folder system where a folder is labeled for each area needing to be accounted for, educational, medical. business, travel, etc. Keeping everything on the computer may be the most efficient, especially for those of you who use the tax software that is now available. But the point is this, whatever your system, do have a system. It will save you time looking for receipts, the energy that comes with the stress of organizing at the last minutes, and the money of lost deductions or accountant’s fees when things aren’t ready to go. And isn’t that what we’re about here at Commuter-Assist – getting back the time, energy and money for our commuting audience?
	HEALTH TIPS WATER, WATER Anyone who had grade school health class will know our bodies are made up of about 70% water. Water helps regulate body temperature, move nutrients throughout our bodies, transport oxygen, remove waste products and protect our organs and joints. We lose water by sweating, respiration and urination. Drinking coffee, and certainly not alcohol, is no substitute for water. They are diuretics which will cause us to urination, thus losing more water from our bodies. Some people, unaware of the correlation, will have low back pain, headaches, constipation or joint pain, never knowing that an increase of water may remedy these symptoms. (Of course, these all may be symptoms of other disorders, and should not be overlooked.) Thirst is not the first sign of the need for water. In fact, you need water long before thirst sets in. Be wary of what you drink. Soda, coffee, sports drinks, some flavored waters, contain large amounts of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and artificial flavorings which do no good for your health or your waist. Plain water is always the best t drink. Flavoring it with lemon, lime or other fruits gives some variety. Shereen Jeqtviq, a chiropractor and nutritionist, gives an easy formula to determine how much water you need a day. Divide your weight in pounds by 2. This, then, is the amount of ounces you need to drink each day. You need to increase it if you are active, if you live in an arid climate or if you are on a plane (8 oz. for every hour on flight). Some weight loss experts suggest increasing your basic needed amount by another 8 oz. for every ten pounds you are looking to lose. There is no need to spend money on designer waters but if you are unsure of your tap water, there are simple tests available to check that it truly is a healthful drink and not contaminated. Check your telephone book or the yellow pages on the internet for government testing centers. Water, the other staff of life. Use it and be healthy.
DR. M RECOMMENDS In Conquer the Commute, which I am finishing up, I lament that my son did not come with an instruction manual and, think that he, too, will lament that fact. Well, no more, for I have found what has been missing. We, my sons and I, have been devouring Life’s Missing Instruction Manual: The Guidebook You Should Have Been Given at Birth by Dr. Joe Vitale. Since I had just, several months ago, written about wanting a manual, I was, of course, intrigued. Some of my colleagues had been discussing the book and its value. But nothing prepared me for the impact it would have on my children. They don’t want to put it down when we read it. It has been the impetus for discussions in many areas – what we all want in life, what ‘success’ means, life, death, on and on. No doubt about it, this book will be dog-eared and I will have to get each his own copy or have them say I play favorites. If they really do begin to live what is revealed in the book, I am happy to predict they will have great lives. If there is one book I would like everyone connected with Commuter-Assist to own, read, digest and use, this is the one. Go now and order it and share it with people you love. Life's Missing Instruction Manual by Joe Vitale	WHAT'S HAPPENING TELECONFERENCE Our teleconference series, Commuters in the Know LIVE!, went off without a hitch. Wayne Meyers of www.PoconoCommuter.com and www.CommuterClub.com was a fabulous guest and promised to come back again. He told us how the sites began and how they function. Commuter Club will be national and eventually global, so do go visit both these web sites. And come join us for the next teleconference on 4 May, 9 PM eastern. We will have topics that are informative and we’ll have a laugh or two, as well. The sign up link is http://www.Commuter-Assist.com/teleconference.htm. CONQUER THE COMMUTE: TOOLS FOR THE ROAD AND LIFE Hopefully, next month the e-book Conquer the Commute: Tools for the Road and Life will be completed and available. It is in its final polishing and you can order it at a 30% discount by clicking on this link Click here and reserve your copy of this new e-book today. SURVEY Don’t forget to fill out the survey. Your opinions are important to us. Click here to take the survey now! Estimated time: 3 minutes
Dr. Mastria is founder of Commuter-Assist.com, which publishes e-books, CDs and cassettes to help commuters get the most out of their commute and life in general. Dr. Mastria speaks, offers workshops, and consults to businesses. She also provides life, wellness, and business coaching to groups and individuals. To contact Dr. Mastria email info@Commuter-Assist.com or call 570-839-6394. All content Copyright © 2006, Dr. Marie A. Mastria, CLC, PCC / Commuter-Assist.com. All rights reserved. You may copy or send it to family or friends who may benefit from it so long as the format and credits are intact. You have permission to publish this article electronically, free of charge, as long as the by-lines are included and links are activated and maintained. A courtesy copy of your publication or link to website would be appreciated.
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