Living on HuffingtonPost.com

Tamsen Fadal and Matt Titus: 10 Signs He Is Cheating

2009-07-10T16:05:16Z

My husband is very protective of his email passwords. He is always on Facebook. And, he constantly leaves his cell phone in the car, plus it's locked. I suspect he is cheating on me. But are there any signs that I can look for before I accuse him of this?
-Campbell, Miami, FL

We often get questions from our AskMattAndTamsen readers asking for signs of cheating. While no person or relationship is the same, there are a few tell tale signs that you can look for to try and determine if your partner is straying.

1.Too Much Of A Good Thing Is Bad
This is a classic sign of cheating. It may sound weird, but if your man is too attentive, showers you with love, affection and especially gifts, he may be the cheating kind. This is not to say that every attentive man is seeing someone behind your back, but if his affection is out of the ordinary, over the top and all consuming, you may want to keep an extra eye on him

2. New Music, New Cologne, New Attitude
If you man is suddenly rocking out to JT, wearing a new scent and is all of a sudden the life of the party (when he was once Mr. Shy Guy) he may be straying. Often times, men take on new behavior or the likes of the person they are trying to impress and striving to be with.

3. He Accuses You
This is one of those classic signs of cheating: he accuses you of straying. This happens because he is over ridden with guilt and is projecting his feelings onto you.

4. His Phone Is Off Or Off Limits
If you do not have access to your mate's phone or he turns it off or is very private and jumpy when rings, he most likely has something to hide. A man with no "strange on the side" is not worried about who's calling.

5. He Likes To Fight
This is again due to guilt and the fact he is trying to give himself an excuse for his bad behavior. He is fighting with you so he can justify the fact he is seeing someone else, telling himself, "I am not happy in my relationship, she picks on me, therefore it's OK to get attention elsewhere."

6. I Don't Want Your Sex
Your sex life comes to a screeching halt. If you can't remember the last time you had sex, it's a pretty good indication that he is getting it somewhere else.

7. New Friends Could Be Your Enemy
All of a sudden your mate starts talking a lot about a "new friend at work" someone he met "at the gym" or a "neighbor who is nice." This is not a one time mention but a person he constantly refers to in conversation.

8. He Is Unreliable
He comes home late from works, leaves early for the gym and doesn't always answer his phone. Inconsistencies like these can make for a bad bed partners and are another sign he may be seeing someone else.

9. He Protects Friends Who Cheat
'You are the company you keep' rings true in this case. If you man protects his friends who cheat by lying for them and helping them with cover stories, chances are they are doing the same for him.

10. Gut Check
No, you are not being paranoid, sometimes you just know. If you feel it in your gut, it could very well be your man is straying from home. Don't dismiss the smell of perfume on his jacket, the mysterious phone calls to your home or the sudden late hours at the office.

John Graham: The Health Care We Deserve

2009-07-10T15:58:36Z

The givens: our country over decades has jerry-built a health care "system" that is unfair and inefficient. We pay far more for far less care than any other industrialized nation. And we have forty million people uninsured for whom a major illness can mean mortgaging a home, not sending a kid to college, or worse.

Now the country is finally beginning to address health care reform in a meaningful way, in what could well be the most important domestic policy debate since the New Deal.

Key elements in this debate are competition, costs -- and courage.

Competition. A huge point of contention is defining what additional role, if any, government should play in health care. As we see, this argument quickly descends from policy to ideology, which is why it is so difficult.

Many Americans favor a "single-payer" national health care system run by the Federal government -- a huge shift from the current system managed by private insurance companies whose primary goal is to turn a profit. Statistics show that the single-payer systems used by most other industrialized countries are more equitable and efficient than the hodge-podge we now have here.

But single-payer is not on the table in 2009, shelved by strategists in the White House and in Congress who fear the power of the health insurance lobbies to scuttle any reforms that contain it. Single-payer could put health insurance companies out of business and they will fight to keep that from happening.

There's a compromise afloat -- the so-called "government option" in which a government-run health care plan would be just one option for consumers, competing with private plans to enroll members. The plan or plans that worked best for lowest costs would gain customers, forcing others to either improve or leave the market. Sounds like classic capitalism, right?

But even this thoroughly sensible idea is in under attack because the insurance companies are afraid that they would lose such a competition, forcing them to either better meet peoples' needs -- or lose business. They are already arguing that the playing field would be tilted against them. Unlike the government, for example, health insurance companies find it difficult to pressure themselves to use their leverage to contain costs -- because those costs add to their own profits. They also argue that they have expenses that the government doesn't -- like the billions they spend on advertising and inflated CEO salaries.

The arguments against a government option would collapse of their own weight were it not for the support of lawmakers eating at the trough filled by the health insurance lobby. As President Obama put it last week to Republican lawmakers:
"Why is it that the government, which private insurers say can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical...they should be able to compete."

Cost-containment. Three of the best new ideas:

Focus more attention and dollars on prevention, which costs far less than treatment, especially treatment in ERs.

Put more attention and dollars on expanding primary care, which is a low-cost way to keep people healthy and reduce the number of higher-cost interventions.

Create a national electronic database of medical records, which would drastically cut administrative costs while reducing medical accidents.

But that's the "easy" stuff. There can be no serious effort to cut health care costs in this country until we as a people accept that we can't have it all. We can't have an MRI machine in every clinic and we can't provide unlimited options for treatment and at the same time complain that our health care costs are too high.

Medicare paid for expensive exploratory surgery for my dying 94-year old mother that, even had it succeeded, would have given her only a few more months. Her case is hardly unique. Studies show that, overall, adding expensive high-tech options does little or nothing to improve health care outcomes.

But do I want a government bureaucrat telling me whether or not I can have a certain medical procedure? No, I do not, but even more I don't want an accountant in an insurance company making that decision. I want a doctor helping me and my family choose options. And if those options are limited, at least I want them limited by some sensible parameters created by experts who have no economic stake in the outcome.

Means testing is another difficult cost-containment option. My mother left an estate of $250,000. Her final illness cost $35,000, yet her estate paid not a dime of it. In my view, Medicare should have taken all or part of that $35,000 from her estate.

Courage. No health care reform will succeed until the White House and the Congress are finally willing to stand up to the health care lobby. The shameful hold on Congress by that industry must end; the names of legislators beholden to it must be widely publicized, so voters can assess who's listening to the money, not the needs of the people.

Government must use its enormous bargaining power to lower the costs of the health care it pays for, such as Medicare and Medicaid. It was outrageous for Congress in 2003 to forbid Medicare from negotiating lower drug costs with pharmaceutical companies.

But our leaders need our support if we expect them to make tough decisions like these. There won't be meaningful health care reform if citizens remain frightened, insular and uninformed. All of us need to:

Accept that health care reform must happen, even though it may mean changes we think might be risky or that reduce treatment options the nation can no longer afford.

Accept that covering all Americans is going to cost a lot of money upfront; many of the best cost-containment measures may take years to implement.

Wake up. Giving for-profit companies the primary power to manage our national health care pleases libertarian and rightwing ideologues, but it's not a policy that can ever lead to efficient and equitable outcomes. If for-profit companies are to continue to play a role, it must be tightly regulated, as it is now in the popular plan enjoyed by Federal employees.

Be prepared to stand up to Harry and Louise. The more capable we are of making informed decisions, the less vulnerable we are to the simplistic scare tactics sure to be thrown at us by the protectors of this woeful status quo.

We deserve better than what we have.
We deserve better than what the health care industry is willing to give us.
We deserve better than a weak compromise from Congress described as victory.

We will have to fight for it.

John F. Wasik: How Green Building Can Save the Housing Industry

2009-07-10T15:33:51Z

Green is gold. Why didn't homebuilders get this idea? They could be building new homes again, employing millions, making inner cities and suburbs habitable and bring down the cost of housing for everyone.

Homebuilding needs to join the 21st century and apply the best, efficient technologies to lower costs and reduce energy and resource consumption. But the vast majority of homes have been built using the very best 19th-century, stick-built/balloon frame methods. That's got to change if we want to revive the bedrock of the American Dream.

As it stands now, while you may have the most up-to-date flat-panel TVs, computers, cellphones and audio equipment inside your home, the basic way that most homes are built hasn't changed much in more than 170 years.

That's right. As microprocessors double in speed every 18 months, cellphones are becoming just as powerful as laptop computers and you can connect to nearly anyone on the planet through the internet, the box you live in is antiquated beyond belief and costs you more every year to heat, cool and maintain.

To change this deplorable situation -- and revive real estate, building and banking -- it will require a change in attitude. Think of your personal living space as ecodynamic. It could adjust to the exterior environment cybernetically, tell you when the cheapest electricity is available and program the entire house to use less energy.

Is this something out of the new Star Trek movie? Hardly. Ecodynamic homes are not only being built, they are being assembled. That's an important distinction.

Rather than building everything on site with framing and two-by-fours, modular units are pre-made to exacting specifications in factories, then loaded on flat-bed trucks and assembled on site. This not only cuts the construction time and cost from one-third to one-half, it eliminates tons of waste that end up in landfills. The end-result is energy-efficient, low-maintenance and will produce energy and conserve water.

An ecodynamic home is always working for you to reduce costs. It saves water in cisterns, prevents heat from leaking out in the winter and keeps a breeze flowing in summer. You use less energy because the house's computer is constantly monitoring conditions and directing resources to where they are needed. Don't need to heat or cool a spare bedroom? The system will know and cut your bills.

Sounds good so far, but aren't these homes really ugly trailers? Throw that image out of your mind. They are loaded and secured onto permanent foundations and can be stunning.

Take a look at architect Michelle Kaufmann's "Smart + Wired Home," a house so innovative it's now on display at Chicago's Museum and Science and Industry. It's an elegant example of a modular, green home that was factory built and constantly monitoring itself with its own eco-computer system. A flat-panel display in the living room can display a graphic that shows the cost of energy that moment, how much of it the house is consuming and the amount of electrons being produced on rooftop solar panels. If it makes more energy than you consume, you sell it back to the power company.

The Smart + Wired Home costs nine times less to heat and three times less to cool than a standard home of the same size. The gorgeous, spacious interior is full of low-voltage lighting, fixtures made of recycled materials and lets in generous amounts of light.

But this is not just a home for museums as Kaufmann hopes to mass produce these homes. If she succeeds (I'm rooting for her), she could become the Henry Ford of homebuilders. Make houses on assembly lines and their costs will come down as economies of scale will be realized. And because they are modular designs, you can easily change the layout or add on extra modules if you need to expand at a cost much lower than stick-built contracting.

What will it take to make green modular homebuilding a major industry? Policymakers will need to implement tax incentives over the next two decades, reward new home-energy technologies with grants and shift tax dollars away from wasteful road building projects into places like the inner city where decent, affordable housing is in short supply.

Some of this is already being seeded through the Obama stimulus plan and budget, although a comprehensive, long-range plan is needed. The upcoming energy/climate change bill would be an ideal place for these ideas. If we get really good at ecodynamic design and manufacturing, we'll be able to export these products to places where durable, inexpensive and green housing is desperately needed: China, India, Africa.

Back in the U.S., homes needn't be so capital intensive and push people into foreclosure and bankruptcy. They can be clean, green and affordable. They can pay us back when they produce energy. To accomplish that, we will need to re-envision the American Dream. Home is where the heart is. Now the political will needs to follow if we're to make homeownership widespread and sustainable.

Author Bio
John F. Wasik, author of Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream, is a personal finance columnist for Bloomberg News and the author of several books. His most recent book, The Merchant of Power, was praised by Studs Terkel and well reviewed by the New York Times. Wasik has won more than fifteen awards for consumer journalism including the 2008 Lisagor and several from the National Press Club. He has appeared on such national media as NBC, NPR, and PBS. He lives in Chicago.
For more information please visit www.johnwasik.com

Jason Mannino: Career Lessons From My Recruiting Desk Part II: Interviewing in 2009

2009-07-10T15:14:01Z

What are your greatest strengths? I am always a little surprised when I still hear people say that interview questions like this one are still the most popular. One dimensional questions like this are not the most popular among sophisticated, well trained Hiring Managers and Recruiting professionals.

In old fashioned interviews you will indeed be asked questions like, "What are your strengths?" However, more and more companies have begun to employee behavioral interviewing. Behavioral interviewing is a relatively recent interviewing technique. It was developed by Industrial Psychologists in the 1970's. It is based on the premise that past behavior is an accurate predictor of future behavior in a job environment. Statistics show that behavioral interviewing is five times more accurate than the traditional interview style for choosing the right candidates. As a result more and more companies looking to save money by making the "right" hires are integrating this technique into their recruiting practices.

Behavioral interviewing is a technique that digs much more deeply into a candidates experience by inviting candidates to share from real work or life behavior. In a traditional job-interview, you can usually get away with telling the interviewer what he or she wants to hear, even if you are stretching the truth. However, it's much more difficult to give responses that are untrue in a behavioral interview. In a behavioral interview the interviewer can drill down to get the specifics. For instance, they may ask follow up questions that include, "What were you thinking at that point?" or "What made you decide to choose that specific action as opposed to another choice?" If the truth is being stretched there is a good chance your response won't hold up among this deeper questioning. Candidates who thoroughly tell the interviewer about particular situations that relate to each question will be far more effective and successful than those who remain general.

Your responses to behavioral interview questions will take the S-T-A-R approach.

1. S or T - Describe the situation or task
2. A - Describe the action you took in the context of the situation or task
3. R- What was the result of your action.

A typical behavioral interviewing question might be: "Tell me about a time when you overcame a crisis, solved a problem, dealt with failure, had to manage someone's performance, etc."

Tips to prepare for behavioral interviewing:

1. Company research
So that you have a deep understanding of what skills you need to showcase during the interview be sure to do your company research and take the time to ensure your understanding of the position you are being considered for.

2. Accomplishments
Whether you are actively interviewing or happily employed always keep an ongoing journal of all of your great accomplishments. Also, include details regarding your accomplishments in alignment with the behavioral interview "S-T-A-R" structure. By doing this you are prepared at a moment's notice to present information about yourself in this format.

3. Stories
Prepare for interviews as if you are crafting a twenty to thirty minute presentation about yourself including a series of short thirty second to one minute stories. This gives you an opportunity to present yourself as the expert and the solution to a company's problems. Story topics might include illustrations about how you functioned as an effective team player, how you handled difficult situations on projects or with employees ,how you overcame a challenging sales presentation. It is quite likely that an interviewer will want to explore your behavior under stress by asking about how you overcame seemingly negative situations. Therefore, be sure that your stories include difficulties and challenges you overcame.

4. Solutions
In my last "Lessons From My Recruiting Desk" I encouraged you to present yourself as a solution to problems. Behavioral interviewing also gives you an opportunity to showcase yourself as a solution by choosing to illustrate professionally challenging situations that you managed with aplomb.

With this depthful preparation you are well on your way to interviewing confidently and gracefully. However, I have also seen candidates so well prepared that they flood their interviewers with too much information too soon. Think of an interview like a dance. When you dance you take one step at a time allowing your partner to step in sync. Take one step at a time in an interview by allowing your interviewer to ask their questions. Answer with targeted information that sufficiently addresses the specific question. On the flip side some of my most frustrating memories as a recruiter are from when I had to make significant effort to pull information from candidates who were ill-prepared and not providing sufficient information. My suggestion? Find a balance and run with it and you will give a memorable, impressive interview!

*** In an ever-changing world Jason's coaching empowers you to start living life on your terms, creating a career and life based on personal integrity and authenticity! Learn more at www.jmannino.com and request a free copy of Jason's career coaching e-book: Swinging Through the Unemployment Jungle by e-mailing info@jmannino.com

Eli Davidson: Michael Jackson: Your Man In Your Mirror

2009-07-10T15:07:02Z

The thumping, glittery brilliance of Michael Jackson made him an icon. I watched fans carry homemade portraits of him (much like the gilded icons of Jesus carried in Greek Orthodox Churches) to mourn his passing." Seeing the astonishing outpouring of grief and celebration shows us that he was the dictionary definition of the word icon: "a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something." Jackson had all the things that have been highly prized in our culture: fame, fortune, and talent. Yet, it was very obvious that all of those outer trappings didn't bring him contentment. It is easy to look at Jackson's life and gawk at his excesses. He entertained us rather than living a life that was based on the deeper longing of his heart and soul. We have projected our inner genius and inner freak on this deceased entertainer. Merely seeing him as a symbol bypasses the internal learning we can gain from his life. However, his life offers an opportunity for looking had how he was and "the man in the mirror" for our own longings.

You Can Never Get Enough Of What You Don't Really Want
As a symbol of American consumer spending, Jackson died in debt. According to The Wall Street Journal, Michael died about $500 million in debt. (Americans carry $2.56 trillion in consumer debt, up 22 percent since 2000 alone, according to the Federal Reserve Board.)

I am still scratching my head about Jackson's finances. How could a person amass that much debt? Then I remember watching a BBC special about Jackson back in 2003. Jackson was filmed spending $6 million on a shopping excursion in Las Vegas. He gathered up antiques the way you or I toss carrots in a grocery cart. Like many Americans, Jackson used compulsive shopping as a way to dull the pain of open wounds from his childhood. As I reflect on my Inner MIchael, I see my own longing for acceptance. I certainly have used buying a new pair of shoes or several pair if they were on sale to calm my jangled nerves. How can I offer the kindness instead of criticism to those parts of myself I find ugly and unacceptable? What about you?

Plastic Please
There are stories about Jackson feeling so ugly as a child that he wanted to wear a mask on stage, and numerous accounts of his father taunting him and calling him "Fat Nose." In her wonderful post, Judith Rich exposed Michael Jackson's pain: "Michael Jackson: It Hurts To Be Me." Like the rest of us, he used a complex array of destructive behaviors to dull his inner aching. As a symbol of Americans' distaste for their appearances, he expressed his internal pain through war with his body. (Researcher J.J. Brumberg found that 53% of 13-year-old girls were dissatisfied with their appearance. That figure jumps to 73% for 17-year-olds. Instead of dealing with his internal demons, he focused on fixing his outsides.

Jackson had the funds to 'fix his face.' Here is Michael's face morphing. Reports say that he had so many nose jobs that his surgeons dared not risk another one. His surgeon stated that he began to fake surgeries, persuading Jackson that they had done further surgery when they had not. This need to fix his outsides was a call for the longing to heal his insides.
Like most Americans, Jackson was under the persistent pressure to perform. I see my own crazy schedule and realize that I often put my work before my own nurturing. What about you? Michael Jackson had stadiums of adoring fans screaming his name. It appears that external adoration couldn't heal the desperate pain he felt inside. As I look at myself, I see that I have judged a sudden eruption of fat around my stomach. Since it is bikini season, I am constantly aware of this unwelcome addition to my body. Could I accept myself more? How about you?

Man in The Mirror
For all his fame and wealth, he didn't get a chance to live the life he wanted. He was a shy and very sensitive person. The loudness and brashness of his job must have been very tough on those tender nerves. I believe that many of us are using him to mourn not getting to live the life we wanted. Each of us has a Michael Jackson inside. Each of us is both brilliant and wounded. If you dive deep enough into those areas of freaky-crazy-darkness you will find that at their core they are an expression of love as well. In my practice, I am continually in awe of the human spirit and what it can create. There is incredible preciousness inside each of us. We get so distracted by the tornado of circumstances in our lives that we forget to focus on that gleaming beauty inside. Tina Brown brought up a super point in an interview on NPR on Tuesday. She spoke about how Michael Jackson's death liberated him from the sleaze and allows us to celebrate his soaring talent. That comment brought me back to the symbolism of the icon. How can I rise above my limitations ? How can I more clearly live my life as a demonstration of the shining preciousness of my core? Can you claim more of the deep value inside?

How To Make An Icon
Several years ago, I made a sort of icon. It was a watercolor figure that depicted God sharing energy through me. Seeing that image above my desk helped me to reconnect with my 'mission' during the very long hours of finishing my book. In Eastern Orthodox Churches icons are carried to aid worshipers in their devotion. What if you could create an Icon to express the blazing majesty of your Soul and its contribution here? Yes, I know that some of you will rake me over the coals as "woo woo" and cheesy. That's okay. If you actually give this exercise a whirl you will watch your inner life transform.

Supplies: A large blank piece of paper or two, your favorite art supplies, and a few minutes of private time.

1. Center Yourself.
Take in a deep breath. Let it out. Now, breathe in the good. Exhale the lousy. Do these three times as you begin to feel more centered.

2. Ask for the Greatest Good.
Take a moment and connect with your authentic nature. The best way to create more of what you want is to begin the process in a state of unity with your source. When you remember your spiritual nature, it is good to remember that you are interconnected with all those that inhabit our earth. It is for the highest good of all concerned.

3. Set Your Intention.
Set your intention to empower yourself. What would it feel like to live from your authentic goodness? Wouldn't your world be a better place? You bet!

4. Write It Down.
Now it's time to put it on paper! Write: "I, [your name], claim and manifest my good. Everyday I enjoy more health, wealth, happiness, and love." It's your life. Make your Icon just the way you want it. Use all the color and glitter you like! If you are a visual person, you might use colors and images instead of words.

5. Use Your Natural Resources.
What are a few of the positive qualities at your core? What are your strengths? Add three of these positive qualities or strengths to your Icon. For instance: "Inside me I use love in every way I can, I laugh more often, use my creativity, and speak my truth with kindness." Go for it!

6. Post It.
Post your Icon with pride. The very best place to put it is where you see will it just before falling asleep at night. That helps your unconscious to absorb the images.

7. Thank Yourself.
Thank yourself for making the positive choice to honor your essence.

You can receive notice of my blogs every Friday by checking Become a Fan at the top. Ask Eli a question at info@elidavidson.com or go to www.elidavidson.com today.

Vicki Iovine: Girlfriends' Guide To Global Warming: How Having Teenagers Makes Me An Expert On Developing Countries

2009-07-10T13:25:09Z

It's no coincidence that I waited till the Huffington Post moved all the environmental stuff out of the Living section before I began posting for it. Call me anything, but never call me "earnest," please. My ecological philosophy goes something like this: Don't be a pig and clean up your mess to your best ability. Enough said. Reading about carbon footprints just makes me feel guilty and insignificant, particularly now that the G8 meeting is coming to an end in Italy. I may be squinting at under-lit labels in my pantry because I'm using CFL's and I may be driving a hybrid, but what difference does that make when India and China haven't even gone through puberty, let alone been invited to the dance. The developed countries have all agreed to a "goal" to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees, but the hormonal and exceedingly populated developing countries have been trying to act invisible during this part of the summit.

Who can blame them? They haven't had their Bruce Springsteen moments yet.

They feel born to run and are just itching for affordable cars so that Wendy can wrap her legs 'round these velvet rims. We developed (and I use this term loosely) folks orgiastically indulged in the freedom and sex appeal of cars and now that we're middle-aged and no longer capable of rising to those emotions, we can't understand why everyone doesn't embrace moderation. As the mother of four kids, ages Learner's Permit to Legal Alcohol Limit, I get the rising titans' reluctance to restrict their appetites for the stuff all teenagers want. I don't believe that there is a single hybrid in the senior parking lot of my kids' high school that isn't either a pretend fuel economizer (like a Lexus GS450h or the hybrid Tahoe) or their mother's. Left to their own devices, youths choose fast and big every time. Even if it required a coal-burning engine and a gas mask, teens and China would drive if they could.

I've been raising teenagers for about seven years now, without a break, and what's most appalling about it is the realization that our barbarism is still so firmly coded in our DNA. Ask any survivor of parenting this age group and they will tell you; the most you can pray to do during this time is keep them from dying. Forget imparting values, religion, decency and character during this time. That's why most major religions consider their important work done by the time a child is thirteen--after that, it's helter skelter until they are finally humbled by having children of their own.

Maturity isn't acquired in life--it is beaten into us. And my question is: Who is going to beat these nuclear-armed and increasingly rich adolescent countries into such old-fogey behaviors like delayed gratification and working for the mutual good? It's not their fault that all the fun stuff we Americans and Western Europeans have been flaunting for decades only becomes available to developing countries now that we've seen the ice caps melting and have fought several wars over oil dependence. They want to play, too. In fact, we've been creating this insatiable hunger in them with our goods, movies, music and tobacco commercials. Now we have to go and tell them that it all causes cancer, at the very least? What a buzz kill.

With teenagers, parents can hide the car keys or take away the credit cards, but India and China are making their own keys and cars now and we turn to them, hat in hand for credit. I'm sure it's much like what Miley Cyrus's parents experience. And we certainly can't win with corporal punishment because they, like my own teens, are bigger and have more energy than we do.

All we can hope is that they quickly get hooked on the cult of celebrity because once they start worshipping their own Speidis, vapidity will cast the same opiate fog over them that they have on our kids. Until then, we should do what parents of teens do everywhere, wring our hands and pray that this, too, shall pass.

Dr. Daniel Palestrant: The Biggest Risk To US Physicians: The AMA

2009-07-10T13:09:26Z

On June 15th, 2009, President Barack Obama traveled to Chicago to deliver a speech to share his vision for reinventing health care. It was an impressive oration and an important step in the journey towards comprehensive health care reform. Too bad the US physician community was a no show, for although he received several rounds of applause and a standing ovation, his audience, the American Medical Association (AMA) has long since lost it's role as the voice of US physicians.

We stand on the verge of a trillion dollar health care reform effort - the largest in our country's history - and yet input from practicing physicians has been scarce if not entirely absent. The importance of dedicated, practicing physicians having a voice in this debate is critical to the future of our nation's health care. Seeing the increasing divergence between the perception that the AMA seeks to perpetuate among the general public and an increasingly angered physician population, Sermo polled the 100,000 US physicians in our community as to what they thought of the AMA. Within five days, over 4,100 US physicians voted on the poll and discussed it in over 700 comments. The results were nothing short of stunning - 89% of those physicians say, "the AMA does not speak for me" (See full survey results).

The following is a posting I presented along with the poll to the Sermo physician community on July 1st, 2009. This will be the first of a series of blog posts representing the Sermo physician community's view points on key issues facing healthcare and the reform process currently under way in our country.

First posted to the Sermo physician community on July 01, 2009:

From the Founder: The Biggest Risk to US Physicians: The AMA

As physicians, our first step in the health care debate needs to be clearing the air about who speaks for us on what topics. Today, I am joining the increasing waves of physicians who believe that the AMA no longer speaks for us. As the founder and CEO of Sermo, this is a considerable change of heart, given the high hopes that I had when we first partnered with the AMA over two years ago. The sad fact is that the AMA membership has now shrunk to the point where the organization should no longer claim that it represents physicians in this country.

The AMA has drawn its power from the support of the physician community. The waning membership reflects our objection as the AMA has failed us consistently for over 50 years. Make no mistake, the debate within the AMA about how to stop their membership decline is not new. What is new is the lengths to which the AMA appears willing to go to deceive the public on this topic. The AMA routinely claims that their membership is 250,000 practicing physicians. At best, this is 25-40% of practicing US physicians and even that claim is based on some stretching of the truth. The 250,000 total includes a number of non-practicing constituencies, including medical students, residents, and subscribers of the AMA's journals. Paying membership is generally accepted to be far lower. How much lower? Actual numbers are remarkably difficult to come by.

At this critical moment in history, we cannot watch the AMA fail physicians so completely yet again. Nor can we stand by and let false perceptions about who speaks for physicians persist. At the very least, all parties should understand the intrinsic conflicts of interest that are in play, and the AMA should be held accountable to these truths. Better yet, physicians should call for sweeping changes within the AMA. In the best-case scenario, the AMA will shed its relationships with insurers and abandon tactics that take advantage of physicians to generate millions of dollars in revenue. It is an inherent conflict of interest to claim advocacy for physicians while profiting from a reimbursement system that makes it increasingly difficult for physicians to practice medicine.

The flight from the AMA signals that physicians don't believe the AMA is willing to make these changes. The longer that the public and our lawmakers cling to the perception that the AMA represents the voice of US physicians (and the AMA succeeds in perpetuating this), the more imperiled the medical profession will be and with it the broader US healthcare system. It's time to turn to entities like Sermo where physicians are establishing a new voice to collectively discuss the future of our profession.

There can be no healthcare reforms that have any chance of succeeding without buy-in from physicians. As a country, we cannot risk another failed reform effort. As physicians, we cannot risk letting the AMA represent our interests. This is our time to educate the public about which voices truly represent us and our commitment to our patients.

View over 700 comments from the Sermo physician community

Dr. Irene S. Levine: Caution: Frenemies Can Be Bad for Your Health

2009-07-10T02:54:02Z

In my experience, whatever the problem, giving it a name is a first step in solving it. That's why I was pleased that Merriam-Webster included the word "fren-e-my" (plural: fren-e-mies) in the list of 100 new words it announced today that were added to the Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

The term frenemy, seamlessly blending the words fri(end) and enemy, refers to someone who pretends to be a friend but actually is an enemy -- a proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing in the world of friendships. If you think about it, most of us have had a frenemy at one time of another, either at school, at work, or lurking in our neighborhood.

She (or he) is likely to be a friend who is filled with ambivalence and jealousy. She admires you and wants to be close but feels like she can't hold a candle to you because (she thinks) you're smarter, thinner, richer, or more successful. Ostensibly, she is a friend -- but her covert hostility is an attempt to kick you down a notch and put you in your place. For example, she might be the master of the backhanded compliment who says something like, "You have such a pretty face. If you lost twenty pounds, you would really be attractive."

"You know a friend is really a frenemy if she brings out the worst in you and leaves you feeling drained," say Andrea Lavinthal and Jessica Rozler, co-authors of Friend or Frenemy?. "A sure sign you have a frenemy is when that person cancels plans with you, you're relieved instead of disappointed."

While most research on friendship and health has focused on the positive relationship between the two, a frenemy is a potential source of irritation and stress. One study by psychologist Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad found that unpredictable love-hate relationships characterized by ambivalence can lead to elevations in blood pressure. In a previous study, the same researcher found that blood pressure is higher around friends for whom we have mixed feelings than it is when we're around people whom we clearly dislike.

The term frenemy has been around for a while, reportedly coined by a sister of author and journalist Jessica Mitford in 1977, and popularized more than twenty years later on the third season of Sex and the City. But like "staycation, "earmark" and "physiatry" it was never legitimized by an entry in the dictionary. Now that it has been, assess that friendship that has always made you feel queasy and uncomfortable and give it a name. Then you'll realize it's time to let go or to find a way to fix it.

Have a question about female friendships? Send it to The Friendship Doctor.

Irene S. Levine, PhD is a freelance journalist and author. She holds an appointment as a professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine and her book about female friendships, Best Friends Forever: Surviving A Breakup With Your Best Friend, will be published by Overlook Press in September, 2009. She recently co-authored Schizophrenia for Dummies (Wiley, 2008). She also blogs about female friendships at The Friendship Blog.

Vivian Norris de Montaigu: Love is Free

2009-07-09T23:13:00Z

Last summer now seems to have had an air of Great Gatsby-ish endings, and now a bittersweet cooler summer wind blows. The warmth still reaches us, by human means now, not accouterments, and we need one another now more than ever to keep warm. We are indeed all connected, and those butterflies moving their wings in some distant land, touch us with cloudbursts, even destructive storms.

People in the UK are having more sex. Humans in the US are renting more DVDs via Netflix. Children are staying home and hanging out with their parents instead of attending summer camp. And guess what, we might end up happier for it all. Perhaps people are better off without the therapy, botox and stuff. Maybe the marriages that were based on nothing needed to end. Perhaps earning money instead of it somehow miraculously arriving via pyramid swap flip shorting means more and we enjoy more now. I know I am not going to miss the "houses that felt like hotels with no souls" as my daughter used to say.

I keep thinking about that Talking Heads song from two decades ago in which he sings about his beautiful car and his beautiful wife...and know that we always already knew all this. The money and the things are not who we are. Look at people who had it all, and when they are no longer with us, it becomes evident that all that mattered was who they touched, moved, left behind...the human side.

Why can't we bring the human side into all of our relationships in the future, even that one we have with money? If we thought more about how we spend and earn and invest touches others, perhaps we could actually make those changes we need to make in this world. Why keep arguing about global warming when we all know we feel better when we can breathe clean air and eat food which actually tastes like something real? Porn will never satisfy us like true love does, and getting something for nothing means that, in the end, you are still left empty inside.

Not only was there no there there, even those of us who did stop and try to think through how to live a better life, were tempted, and gave in at times. It was so easy, so right there in front of us.

So let's stop the blaming and get on with the making it whole again. Stop the denial and look one another in the eyes and be honest with ourselves and those around us. No one is perfect. But we all have the ability to evolve.

Love is free. And it is all around you. And it is the only thing that lasts. So try it.

Carolyn Rubenstein: Ten Ways to Nourish Your Inner Zen

2009-07-09T23:11:42Z

Ten Ways to Nourish Your Inner Zen: Part One

"Things do not change; we change." - Henry David Thoreau

While "Zen" originates from Buddhist practice, it has transformed into a cultural phenomenon. Rather than attempt to list a multitude of definitions for the concept of Zen, I want to move beyond mere details and focus on how one can ignite his or her inner Zen, something that can be experienced as a state of inner calm.

Without searching for the magic wand that will obliterate our less than ideal conditions and leave us with a surplus of worry-free time, how can we use personal intention to translate inner Zen into our current life?

While I can't claim that I am the most "Zen" person you'll ever meet, I am working towards making changes that help me take steps towards creating a life that includes my inner Zen as a significant component. Regardless of where you are today, you can revel in the knowledge that at any moment, you can simply decide to begin nourishing your inner life.

I will discuss 5 methods in Part One and 5 methods in Part Two that may help you find that inner Zen. After reading through these five methods, be sure to check for the little extra bonus I've included at the end of the post.

1. Breathe
So simple; so reflexive, yet how often do you consciously think about "breathing?" For me, the answer is...not too often. Recently, I was reminded of the importance of not letting this action remain on autopilot. That powerful reminder came in the form of a recent post entitled "Breathe" by Leo Babauta on ZenHabits.

2. Ask Powerful, Thought-Provoking Questions
Jennifer Lee, a life coach, artist, and yogini, created Artizen Coaching to inspire unfolding your life vision. After working through three forms posted on her site, I realized the importance the sense of Zen is to my personal development. The forms helped me assess my life overall, determine what is essential for my personal well-being, and enable me to create actions that align with my vision.

3. Replace "Uhm" with "Om"
I began practicing yoga six years ago, and the effort started with lots of uncertainty. I had never before done anything that required my mind to stay so focused on "now." When the instructor asked us to lie on our backs for the last 15 minutes of class, I darted out the door. Still, I returned day after day; I had found something compelling about yoga that I couldn't find in anything else. In a word, it was "mindfulness." Below are a few great resources to help you explore the basics of yoga. For those who already practice yoga, these may help you find some unique types of yoga to explore.
-> Yoga Basics
-> My Yoga Online
-> Yoga Journal Online
-> OM Yoga
-> PranaVayu Yoga
-> Shiva Nata: The Dance of Shiva

4. Relax
Relaxing is an action, so feel free to do something relaxing. Some examples include knitting, scrapbooking, photography, creating handmade gifts, sitting in a comfy position with a great magazine or book, or taking a walk outside.

5. Simplify
In order to begin nurturing your inner life, you must first create a strong but flexible foundation. Rigidity is not conducive to exploration. To focus on less and overcome the persistent distractions that encumber us, it's important to learn how you can simplify the things that are causing the most resistance in your life. I am fortunate to be able to work with Aby Garvey, otherwise known as the creative organizing and simplification guru. Aby strongly emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity. Stuff, tasks, and action items are constant components of our lives. You can indeed live by focusing exclusively on the things you must still do, or you can choose to live a life you love--while still being successful. In short, there is no magic wand. Instead, the secret lies in joining a process of trial and error that will ultimately give you the control you need to decide how you're going to focus your energy. Simplifying your life is much more than assembling a collection of color-coded file folders and calendars; rather, it takes reflection and consistent dedication.

Without creating space for "you" in your life, establishing a sense of inner calm will remain a constant struggle.

- - - Download - - -

To supplement this post, I created a download that you can utilize to establish a personal treasury of the resources, thoughts, and tips that are most beneficial to you. I kept it simple so you can tailor it to fit your specific needs. This "knowledge treasury" can serve as a printable inspiration board.

I hope you find the download helpful, and I look forward to providing more resources that can serve as catalysts for turning knowledge into action--and action into change.

--> Download Document

Andrew Slack: What Would Dumbledore Do?

2009-07-09T23:00:05Z

Gandhi. MLK. Mother Theresa. The Dalai Lama. Visionaries whose words and deeds have pointed humanity toward a new way of being in the world. Also, Albus Dumbledore.

Yes, yes. I know what you're thinking: Dumbledore is different than the aforementioned figures because Dumbledore was gay. But that's not the only difference: he's also a fictional character from a popular book series, and being a fictional character, we obviously cannot give him the same stature as individuals who gave (or continue to give) their actual lives to their cause. Yet I believe that not only has Dumbledore's message to the world been inspired by the teachings of these very individuals, but him being fictional does not override the fact that in the hearts of Harry Potter fans across the planet -- myself included -- Dumbledore is very real indeed.

Of course this may sound nuts to those of you not familiar with the Harry Potter fan community, the Harry Potter Alliance, and our new What Would Dumbledore Do campaign. But in my activism, I have learned that in order to win battles, you sometimes have to have sound nuts -- and I'm not just talkin' cajones here. I'm talking about a need for grounded activists who think outside of the box. That, in a nutshell, is Albus Dumbledore.

In just a matter of days, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will come out and (spoiler warning) millions of theatergoers will watch Dumbledore's shocking death and Harry's vow that Dumbledore will live on in those loyal to his spirit. Through our "What Would Dumbledore Do" campaign, tens of thousands of Harry Potter fans are coming together to articulate and celebrate the meaning of being loyal to Dumbledore's spirit. You can check out our innovative three-part campaign that involves Twitter, fans organizing at movie theaters on the night of the movie release, and more at whatwoulddumbledore.org.

Time Magazine and Newsweek have expressed interest in covering our project, but our stance on certain issues, in particularly our support for the Employee Free Choice Act and equal marriage (as echoed by Dumbledore's support for Hagrid to come out of the closet as a giant and house elves right to organize) have attracted the ire of the right wing blogosphere. The bloggers of this realm are lashing out at the Harry Potter Alliance, labeling it as some kind of awful "liberal" propaganda machine -- while overlooking our tremendous success in promoting literacy through book donations (over 13,000 in March including 4,000 to orphans in Rwanda!) and protecting civilians in Darfur and Burma. These are issues that conservatives have often been powerful voices on. I hope that despite our differences that in the future we can work together toward common goals.

I told my friend MC Mr. Napkins about several in the right wing blogosphere calling us a threat to all of human existence, and he let me know that if you rearrange the letters in "The Harry Potter Alliance" it spells, "Care a lot? Try helpin' Earth!" (This just so happens to be the same Mr. Napkins who once used his skills as a wordsmith to help me write a piece for the LA Times about how we could have guessed that Dumbledore was gay: "if you rearranged all of the letters in "Albus Dumbledore" it spells "Male bods rule, bud.") So while some on the right may find it silly, or threatening, for tens of thousands of Harry Potter fans to band together with partner NGO's for human rights and marriage equality, we care about helping the Earth and are doing our best to achieve that end.

Contrary to the claims of my right wing brothers and sisters, the Harry Potter Alliance is not operating from a rigid set of partisan political ideas. Rather, like Dumbledore and like history's greatest visionaries, we strive for our political beliefs to come from something deeper than mere ideology.

Fundamentally, Dumbledore believed on a deep spiritual level that love is our greatest weapon, and this belief is what informed his progressive inclinations toward public policy. As a young man Dumbledore was crushed when his sister had been killed as a direct result of his blind ambition to become a dictator. But, like the Phoenix, out of the ashes of his former self, a new Dumbledore rose, and this new Dumbledore had given up his wish for power over others and instead looked to a power greater than himself.

The Phoenix, which in Harry Potter is a metaphor for the unity between birth and death, was Dumbledore's key to understanding a spiritual reality of interconnectedness as taught by everyone from Martin Luther King to Gandhi to Mother Theresa to the Dalai Lama. Though each of these figures comes from different religious backgrounds, each of them came to a spiritual understanding that all of life is interconnected. This understanding lends itself to a natural imperative to act for justice while still being loving, playful, and assertive.

Perhaps this sounds too "New Agey" but we have time and time again seen that If tyrants fear any thing, it is those who can stand firm and patient while seeing through the tyrants' facade of strength and to the reality of the weak fearful place from which they act. Dumbledore was the only one that Voldemort feared because Dumbledore addressed him by his original name of "Tom Riddle" and approached him "as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall."

This kind of confidence is something that has been exhibited by the Dr. Kings, the Gandhis, the Aung San Suu Kyi's in facing great tyrannies. And the What Would Dumbledore Do campaign is about using the metaphor of Dumbledore to demonstrate how all masters of social change have shown a love and patience from which our entire world can learn in how we approach everything from global policies toward poverty to how we approach the reality of our own mortality.

With his connection to the Phoenix, Dumbledore understood that while these fragile bodies of ours are destined to die, we are not single waves but part of the ocean; as he tells Harry, "to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure," and that those we have loved and lost never truly leave us.

For all of us who are fans of Harry Potter, it was incredibly traumatic to read about the death of Albus Dumbledore, and it will be disturbing to watch it in the upcoming film. But as this fictional character, with whom we have developed a very real relationship, sets off on his next great adventure, he and his vision continue to stay real and alive in our hearts. It is a vision that we are carefully articulating at whatwoulddumbledoredo.org. It is a vision that the world deeply needs, and one that echoes the visions of humanity's greatest visionaries. It is a vision that encourages each of us, in our quest to better humanity, to start from a place of compassion, creativity, and peace as we begin to collectively become aware of the only reality that there is: love.

Andrew Slack is Executive Director of the the Harry Potter Alliance, whose creative approach activism by mobilizing thousands of kids to become activists by using parallels from the Harry Potter novels continues to help its partner NGOs in numerous advocacy campaigns.

Avital Binshtock: Self-Care = Earth Care

2009-07-09T22:12:08Z

What's good for our bodies is good for the planet -- and what's bad for the earth is bad for our health. The idea that caring for the earth must include attending to our own wellness is worth exploring. These are ways to take better care of yourself and the environment.

Mind Your Mind

The link between mental health and environmental degradation isn't commonly discussed, but it's when people feel unsatisfied that they're likelier to overconsume, making the planet a hapless victim. And the unprecedented rates at which Westerners are taking antidepressants and stimulants are polluting our rivers and oceans.

Natural ways to feel better include exercising, getting enough sleep, developing a strong support system, talk therapy, heading outdoors, and pursuing a hobby. If you have to take medications, be sure to properly dispose of them.

Watch What You Eat

You can make dietary changes to help your health and please the planet. Eating less meat, for example, is a huge way to heal the earth (18 percent of greenhouse gases come from industrialized livestock production), as is reducing overall caloric intake.

The term "tread lightly" takes on new meaning now that there's research, written about here, here, and here, citing overeating and obesity as causes of global warming.

Choose Organic

When buying food, cosmetics, or clothing, try to ensure that anything you'll be putting in or on your body is free of pesticides and other chemicals that pollute the planet and your innards. Choosing purer products might cost more in the short term, but in the long run you'll be saving more than dollars. Just look for the seal.

Cut Out the Plastic

Many of us already know how devastating plastic can be for the planet, but most aren't fully aware that the synthetics can harm human health too. From heating food in plastic containers to reusing plastic bottles (and perhaps even using them the first time) to scientific concerns about BPA, there's an ocean's worth of reasons to steer clear. Instead of throwaway plastic, choose reusable glass or metal. If you do find yourself having to use plastic, do your best to recycle it.

Please comment: What are other ways to help your health and the planet?

Colleen Perry: Plagued by an Inner Critic

2009-07-09T22:02:23Z

Are you afraid to feel angry, jealous, lonely, helpless or anxious? It's no coincidence that four out of seven clients I have seen this week have all had the same paralyzing fear about expressing their feelings to someone they love, be it a parent, lover, friend, or wife. What they all have in common is a very strong inner critic. Often, those of us with this difficulty feel overwhelmingly vulnerable just saying what is on our minds and in our hearts to someone we love. Why is this?

Many people grow up with a critical parent or parents. What criticism does is teach the child that their feelings aren't valid, or that they are "overly sensitive or emotional", and in some families, negative feelings aren't tolerated at all. How many times has a client said to me "When I cried in front of my mother/father, I was told to stop it, or I would be punished further or sent to my room." "I remember my father saying to me that if I didn't stop crying, he was going to hit me." This lack of empathy and acceptance on the parent's part teaches the child that negative feelings are dangerous and therefore need to be suppressed.

In some cases the child grows into an adult who unconsciously chooses a partner that is also critical or judgmental of their feelings. And in some cases, the client simply assumes that their loved one is going to meet their expression with derision or scorn which keeps them from being able to get their need for emotional safety met at all.

I recently discovered a wonderful website dealing with this issue called www.forthelittleonesinside.com. Here is what the author has to say on the subject of the inner critic: "Our inner critic, although it now seems only to torment and batter us, originally came into being to protect our small and vulnerable selves. It came to prevent us from doing things and being ways that threatened to bring upon us more frightening and dangerous external criticism...criticism that might have led to the withdrawal of the love and support that were so essential for our survival. "

I think Alice Miller said it best in her well known book, The Drama Of the Gifted Child, The Search for the True Self "...for a child can experience her feelings only when there is somebody there who accepts her fully, understands her, and supports her. If that person is missing, if the child must risk losing the mother's love or the love of her substitute in order to feel, then she will repress her emotions. She cannot even experience them secretly, 'just for herself'; she will fail to experience them at all. But they will nevertheless stay in her body, in her cells, stored up as information that can be triggered by a later event."

My clients feel ashamed and confused about their feelings because acknowledging and accepting their full range of emotions have never been safe, but we are "feeling creatures" by nature. Denying and suppressing our feelings leads to emotional pain and physical pain. Science confirms that there is an area in the brain responsible for detecting cues that may be harmful for survival, such as physical danger or social separation, and that this area shares a common pathway with cues for physical pain. In a meta-analysis by Eisenberger and Leiberman out of UCLA, the authors state that "It has been suggested that, in mammalian species, the social attachment system borrowed the computations of the pain system to prevent the potentially harmful consequences of social separation."

So I assure my clients that they are not crazy or defective for feeling so fearful. I help them to understand the basis of their fear of feeling, and encourage them to question their inner critic rather than to accept outright its insistence on pushing us to do more, be better, faster, smarter, and thinner in order to feel loved, worthwhile, and valuable. The only thing we need to change about ourselves is to stop holding ourselves to these unreasonable standards and begin to risk ourselves by being honest with those we love. As I remind my clients: "Those who never risk themselves, never fully become themselves."

Mending Wall Street Soles

2009-07-09T21:50:23Z

For the unemployed, putting your best foot forward is sometimes hard to do.

But Lisa Hancock-Jasie tells us that her New York cobbler has given her a step up on the competition in job interviews. She sent us this email to tell how Minas, of Minas Shoe Repair in the Financial District, has performed a little act of kindness that has made a big impact:

When I became unemployed, Minas fixed the heels of my old shoes, worn out from pounding the pavement for a new job. And he would not take money for the job well done. Instead, he told me that whenever I was gainfully employed, we'd talk about it then. To date, we've never returned to that conversation, although I've tried...He does it because he cares. Well, that and the cobbler in him wants to be sure our shoes are in tip-top shape.

I caught up with Mina himself to talk about the recession, September 11 and helping out friends.

I've seen a lot of young guys and young girls loosing their jobs here on Wall Street. They keep coming in to say hi at least. So, if you see your friend needs some help, you've got to do it. You've got to do what you've got to do, as the Americans say.

How is it you came to think of your customers as friends?

I've had my store for more than 35 years. In the 70's I was one of the first tenants in the basement of the World Trade Center. But after September 11, I lost everything. So I opened this store here on Wall Street in 2004 and we started from zero. And my customers, they came back to me. People came here and they were bringing their shoes, or bags, just to give me some work.

Have your customers been bringing in less work since the recession hit?

No, no, I think we increase business, because we save money for the customers, if you have a good pair like Manolos, and if you paid $500 dollars for them, I'll charge you maybe $40 to bring them back to life. That saves you money.

But for some of your customers, like Lisa, even $40 is too much to pay?

Yes, but she didn't ask me. It's just, I knew she lost her job and I wanted to help. When people are good to you, you have to be good to them. It's a two way street here, not a one way street.

Do you expect Lisa will ever repay you?

I don't expect her to repay me. I feel that I've done something. That's my payment.

And do you think what you've done will help her to get a job?

No matter if it's your shoes or your clothes, to be a person with decency and presentation it's so important. Whether you're a janitor or a businessman, it's always so important. Anybody that needs help with that, I will help them.

As a counterpoint to the (justifiably) gloomy tone of much reporting about the economic crisis, HuffPost is highlighting stories of service, local heroes, and acts of kindness (random and otherwise). We've featured the stories of a marriage therapist counseling couples suffering the stress of financial hardship, dry cleaners offering free suit cleaning for unemployed job applicants, and many more. If you read about or hear about uplifting stories or good deeds in your community (or do a good deed yourself), please let us know by emailing allforgood@huffingtonpost.com.

Get HuffPost Eyes&Ears on Facebook and Twitter!

Dave Howe: Creativity Can Save the World

2009-07-09T21:10:20Z

How are imagination and the global economy connected? Well, if you're a Hollywood producer, you'd know that the highest grossing films of all time tend to fall in the fantasy/imagination/sci-fi genre. Think, Harry Potter, Spiderman, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. The studios behind these blockbuster franchises know that they're virtually certain to get a good return on their investment both in the States and overseas.

But beyond the box office, how else is imagination linked to a robust economy? As the global economy shrinks and America's economy contracts, smart businesses have started to focus on the need to reinvent how we think, injecting more creativity and non-linear thinking into the workplace. Writers like Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, point to a new trend called the "imagination economy." Creative, right brain thinking, they say, is how we can protect Americans from outsourcing, reinvigorate our economy, and regain our place in the world as the incubator for innovation and ideas.

At the 2006 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the theme was "The Creative Imperative." This took place a couple of years before the world economy went into freefall. But even in the good times before TARP entered the vernacular and General Motors went bankrupt,
economic experts touted creativity as the must-have for future world financial strength and growth.

As children we embrace imagination and play, but as we get older, imaginative and creative pursuits tend to be quashed or stymied by the pressures and sometimes sheer monotony of adult work life. Creativity can seem like an indulgence. It's never lost on me that the child who
builds a fantastical city out of Legos and makes music out of pots and sticks is applauded for demonstrating ingenuity and imagination, while the dad who jams with his "band" or reads graphic novels on vacation is chastised as the child who refuses to grow up.

In our bleak economic times with unemployment rising to a scary nine-plus percent, perhaps the only thing many people are fantasizing about is how to pay their bills or keep their jobs. But we all need escapism now more than ever -- not just for entertainment, but for inspiration.

President Obama is reportedly a big Spiderman fan. Perhaps he fancies himself as the webbed superhero who can save us all from the likes of the Joker or, in this case, Ahmadinejad's so-called evil ways. Between the nuclear threat of North Korea, the polar ice caps melting, and the economy crumbling, clearly America is in need of a superhero right now -- a creative, imaginative leader who can think in a non-linear way. And while President Obama probably doesn't have the time to engage in any right brain hobbies in the Oval Office, the President has admitted to reading Harry Potter to his daughters each night. That in itself may not save the American auto industry - but perhaps it may help stir his imagination to come up with new ideas to help solve the world's problems.