MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from 10 Quick Homework Tips (Alder & Trombly) TIP # 1    HEAD OFF STRESS BY BEING PROACTIVE "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." ~ Chinese Proverb   Why is this Important?   One of the biggest reasons, if not THE biggest reason, that kids and parents alike feel stress about homework is that their family simply has no concrete plan for how, when, and where homework will get done.  Kids may not act like it, but they need, and even like, having rules.  They feel better, safer, if they know exactly what is expected of them.  Think about your daily life, at work or at home.  Do you feel more confident, more calm, on days that you are unsure what your boss will want from you, when you don’t know what you are expected to do, or where you should do it and with what tools… or on days when you know exactly what is expected of you, where you know just what to do, where, when and how? ...

  excerpt from The Rose and the Sword (Bach & Hucknall) Introduction                  The popular ideal of finding one’s “soul mate” in a partner stems from the relationship between the two basic energies that exist, beyond gender and sexual identity, in each of us. We all possess a mix of these energies. When the inner feminine energy is weak and the inner masculine energy is dominant, a person loses his or her inner direction, for feminine energy is like a guiding system; without its guidance, actions can lead to unchecked aggression. When the inner masculine energy is undeveloped and the inner feminine energy is strong, swirls of inspired thought dissolve like mist, ungrounded in the action needed for manifestation. When these two energies are equally developed, the individual is richly endowed with inspiration and intuition (the feminine) as well as the ability to express these riches in the world (the masculine).  ...

  Introducción  Cada vez que alguien escribe sobre un tema, de alguna forma escribe sobre sí mismo. Mi nombre es Nelson Fernando Ustman S., y durante este breve espacio en nuestro planeta tierra, he sufrido, he vivido, he reído, he llorado, he cantado, me he caído, y me he vuelto a levantar. He vivido toda clase de decepciones y he convivido con todos los aprendizajes en los fríos inviernos de esta estación de la vida que me tocó transitar. No escogí a mi familia, ni a mi raza cuando llegué a este lugar de nacimiento. Quizás desde ese momento y lugar me tocó arañar la tierra con todas mis fuerzas para poder tener derecho a un espacio de convivencia y acercamiento con los demás. No fue fácil, fueron muchos los tropiezos antes de poder levantar mi cabeza y prepararme para la nueva estación. No es tan sencillo llegar a una familia donde no te están esperando y mucho menos donde no te han invitado. Razón más que suficiente para ser abordado por la soledad, y el a...

  ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre El Día de Muertos y Halloween?   Halloween no es parte del Día de Muertos, aunque el período y algunos símbolos son los mismos o similares. Hay siete diferencias principales.   1 El Día de Muertos dura 3 días, mientras que Halloween dura solo un dia. 2 Aunque los católicos generalmente celebran el Día de Muertos y Halloween, el Día de Muertos es una fiesta sagrada, mientras que Halloween es una fiesta secular. 3 El D ía de Muertos es una oportunidad para celebrar la vida y recordar, un día para reunirse con los familiares. El significado del Día de Muertos influye en las actividades. Ese significado se ha mantenido fiel a sus orígenes; no se ha perdido con el transcurre del tiempo. Halloween llega en la víspera del Día de Todos los Santos, y antiguamente se llamaba en inglés Hallow’s Eve (la víspera santificada). Siglos atrás, los celtas pensaban que esa noche las almas de los muertos volvían para dañar los cultivos ...

  Photo by Kaleena Scargill Some of the people who form a big part of my mission [taking emotional/spiritual care of the parishioners at Old Mission San Juan Bautista] struggle with cancer. I do understand them—their fears, their pain, their sometimes-sadness. I feel those things, too, at least as much as a cat can feel. I know that God made humans to have even deeper feelings and a greater range of feelings, and I am glad that some of those feelings include loving animals because it is through that love that I can connect with them and bring them the message of God’s love. I have to tell you about one of my special friends, Loryn. She understands me because she had cancer, and I understand her because I had cancer—the same way Cody and I understand, support, and love each other. Maybe it is better if I am not the one to tell her story, though. Maybe she should tell her own story. I think you will find it more interesting that way. So, here is what she wrote for my book about her e...

This book itself contains excerpts from the best of MSI Press's publications on triumphing over difficulties. Want to brighten your day? Find out how others did! From Good Blood by Irit Schaffer -- As soon as I looked into his blue eyes, every cell in my body bubbled with joy. Yes, this must be love. I am in love for the first time. His are the bluest eyes I have ever seen. They are like the deep blue of the ocean on a clear and sunny day. My mom is sitting to my left, my sister, Edna, to my right, and I am falling in love. Ari Ben Canaan is his name. He is in charge of taking a boatload of people to Palestine. The boat, Exodus, is filled with Jewish Europeans planning to make their home in the soon to be independent State of Israel. Unfortunately, the British authorities have detained the boat in Cyprus. They are not allowing Exodus to complete its voyage to Palestine, and Ari has to take charge. His confidence is portrayed in his thin and muscular 5’9” frame. “We can g...

Why Cats Make Better Mentors Than Dogs  1) Pet’s goal in life: Dog: Please his master. Cat: Please herself. Point: Cat 2) How pet gets what it wants: Dog: Begging for it. Cat: Taking it. Point: Cat 3)  How pet endears itself to humans: Dog: Demeaning tricks. Cat: Being herself. Point: Cat 4) Pet’s favorite activity: Dog: Long, repetitive walks. Cat: Sleeping. Point: Cat 5) Likelihood pet will eat its own vomit: Dog: Extremely high. Cat: Pretty unlikely. Point: Cat Read more excerpts HERE , along with information about the author and book. Check out the book page for How My Cat Made Me a Better Man at the MSI Press website.

The following excerpt comes from Julia Aziz's book, Lessons of Labor: One Woman's Self-Discovery through Labor and Motherhood. Resistance  Somehow, even though I was breathing through the contractions, staying upright and mobile, varying my position, receiving massages and emotional support, listening to calming music, and experiencing a healthy, safe, naturally progressing labor, I wasn’t happy at all. I was furious. I could not get on top of the experience. I felt like I was at war with the contractions, and they were winning. They came at me like the pounding surf, over and over again, each one stronger and each one pulling my fighting attitude down with it. When I wasn’t struggling to subdue my body, I was fiercely wishing to escape it.  This is the only moment I have. Resisting my experiences, even the really hard ones, won’t make them go away. It will just make them harder.  I once heard a Buddhist teaching about learning to ride a horse as a metaphor ...

11. A Slice of Canine Heaven  When Emme died, I struggled to find the right words of condolence for her owner, my colleague Matt. I finally told him that rarely are my expectations of great things completely fulfilled, but my day with Emme exceeded my hopes and was a joy. Emme was a 170-pound Great Dane who spent one hot summer day, per Matt, “babysitting” me when I was homebound with a sinus infection. I’d been sick in June with a similar illness, and when I returned to work, Matt offered to bring Emme to my home the next time I felt ill. He knew I loved Great Danes but couldn’t own one because of my chronic illness. So, during my second week-long bout that summer with sinus issues, I gave Matt a call. At six-thirty the next day, he arrived with Emme and the largest dog bed I’d ever seen.  After an hour of anxiously checking my front door, Emme settled in. She was the most obedient animal I’d ever encountered. She jumped on the couch to cuddle on command. She placed...

from chapter, Before You Conceive: Every person has a different body with different needs, but whether you are young or old, fit or not, pregnancy puts the body through a lot. I want you to keep in mind that health and fitness aren’t one-size-fits all. What works for one person won’t always work for another. Life—and health—are all about finding something that works for you. Taking stock is a powerful first step if you want to set yourself up for success. When is the last time you touched base with yourself and your health? Questionnaire  1 . How do you feel about your body as it is right now? Try to be as nice as possible . 2 . What role has health played in your life? Has it been an adversary? Has it always been on the backburner? Is it something you have poked fun at? 3 . Do you have any medical conditions you need to take into account when exercising? Chronic pain? Migraines? Old injuries? 4 . Do you have any dietary restrictions (or personal taste restrictions fo...

Saturday, April 7, 2012 The morning before Easter I stood in front of the kitchen window in my pajamas with a cup of hot coffee in my hand, gazing at the cloudless sky and watching the pesky squirrels in the backyard eat all of the birdseed out of the birdfeeder. No matter how many times I chased them off, they came back. I loved watching the birds so I put up with the thieves. Such a perfect day—except for one thing: my daughter Elizabeth still wasn’t home. She had spent the night at a friend’s house, and I had expected her to return before now. She knew the rules—she had to check in with us in person the next morning after staying the night away from home—but she hated to follow them. A typical teenager, rebellious and stubborn, she thought her parents didn’t understand her, that we had no idea what it was like to be a teenager. Lord knows, I was well aware of the trouble a teenager could get into by spending the night away from home, not only from her older half-brother ...