Let me introduce you to Annette. She drew my attention at the gym because she was having so much fun dancing on the treadmill. Wearing headphones, she jives, twirls, and sometimes sings to the music while effortlessly balancing on the treadmill. She is absolutely oblivious to me and all the other patrons as she glides and slides to her Latin music for two straight hours, three times a week.

Last month we finished a four-week program Less Stress, More Serenity, Health, and God. I have been thinking a lot about these subjects so I decided to present a quick review of the 10 key points. 

You might be wondering why I’m sharing my beauty tips….promoting beauty is slightly off-topic, right? After all, my message focuses on health of body, mind, and spirit—not beauty. For me, a beautiful person (male or female) is one who is loving, serene, giving, peaceful, joyful, patient, kind, open, and vibrant. My tips describe the things I try to do as I strive for this kind of beauty.  As you will see, there are multiple links between my beauty tips, positive psychology, health, and, ultimately, beauty…

“It’s awful in here— so messy and smelly. I can’t even think. Why don’t you do something about it? I’ve been trying to get your attention for months.”

Have you ever read a book and felt the author was speaking directly to you, looking in your eyes to ensure you’re listening? This recently happened to me with Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero, the founding minister of the New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, N.Y.

Are you one of those people who always walks past the fish display of your supermarket with your eyes averted, not wanting to even get close to those creatures with their bug eyes, slime, scales, sharp fins, and, of course, their guts?

Working as a physician for the underserved and homeless in our nations’s capital was an eye-opener for me. I saw patients with multiple health problems. Why so many diseases? Lifestyle choices, stress, and poverty? Yes, but there was something else, something big, which I only came to understand later.

I recently returned from visiting my daughter and grandchildren in Umbria, Italy. As we roamed around small towns and beautiful green hillsides and visited Assisi, I couldn’t stop thinking about St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecologists: “Had he stepped where I am stepping?” …

I am increasingly fascinated by the cycle of life after death and growth after loss. At Easter, Christians joyfully celebrate this very thing: Jesus resurrected to new life after His death on a cross, thereby earning new life for each of us. But this cycle is part of life for all of us.

I always knew muscles were a good thing. So, not being able to find my quadricep muscles—even when I grasped my thigh while contracting the muscles as hard as I could—really bothered me. I was weak, had osteoporosis, and was not doing the weight-bearing exercises that could help me.

When you’re having a bad day, what’s really going on?

Does the constant noise and busyness of our world make it difficult for you to actually hear God, others, or even your own voice? Try these 4 tips for finding quiet and reconnection.