MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

Five takeaways:

1. Inflammation is the immune system’s response to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, toxic compounds, or irradiation. It is a defense mechanism that removes injurious stimuli to cells and initiates the healing process. What many people don’t know about it, is that chronic inflammation can lead to many diseases.
2. Inflammation often goes undetected until it becomes a bigger, life-affecting issue. We often fail to understand how inflammation relates to our particular afflictions until problems have spun out of control.
3. Inflammation is the cause of many of the small afflictions that we often overlook or work through: Brain fog, chronic aches and pains, anxiety, acne, sinus issues, headaches, gastrointestinal issues, and so many more.
4. Inflammation is caused by the three T’s:
   • Trauma: an impact, as drastic as a car accident or as innocuous as an elbow bumping a door frame, can trigger a stress response that manifests as swelling.
   • Toxins: exposure may take place through food allergies, medications, chemical exposure, bacterial infection or overgrowth, or another consumed or exposed stimulus.
   • Thoughts: stress has a physical inflammation reaction. Chronic stress puts us in a continuous state of alarm and inflammation.
5. The key to overcoming inflammation is to a) know your body, by getting tested by professionals to learn about your own sensitivities and allergies and b) remove known toxins from your diet or immediate sphere. You can overcome inflammation and you will feel the joy of greater health!

From The Wellness Way
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Five takeaways:

1. This article explores the importance of learning as much as possible about our loved ones, particularly our family elders. Many of us live in the dark about so much of the lives of our elders.
2. Keating, a professor of sociology, has developed “the essential questions” that families can use to learn more about each other. The stories and memories these questions elicit, Keating argues, will “place you in a rich sensory world you knew little about,” and feel more connected to your personal roots.
3. Parents and grandparents have unique snapshots of memories of a world that will never return; absorbing those stories is a way of preserving lost worlds while creating lasting connection.
4. These memories reaffirm a family’s identity and can reaffirm one’s personal sense of history. A greater sense of one’s place in a progression of a family can add to a sense of personal meaning.
5. As we look ahead to Thanksgiving, take a moment to think about meaningful questions that will elicit thoughtful answers from your loved ones. You will find that your loved one’s answers may surprise, delight, and amaze.

From Elizabeth Keating at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

Five takeaways:

1. While traditional religiosity and belief has been on a rapid decline in America, many overlook the fact that Americans are far more likely than people in other developed nations to practice religious or spiritual behavior
2. A 2017 Pew Research Center survey showed that 48 percent of respondents considered themselves both religious and spiritual, and another 27 percent said they are spiritual but not religious.
3. So why the rise of nonreligious spirituality? Spiritual experiences—traditionally religious or otherwise—give us unique insights into life that cannot be found anywhere else. They give us insight and connect us with “bigger” and more meaningful ideas about existence.
4. Spiritual practice has a real effect on the brain as well: Researchers have shown that a spiritual experience reduces activity in brain regions associated with sensory and emotional processing—thus, perhaps, helping people escape the virtual prison of overthinking and rumination. Studies have also shown that medical patients reported better quality of life if spiritual-care professionals (such as chaplains) were involved in their care along with doctors and nurses.
5. Brooks’ three tips for bringing more spirituality and transcendence into your life are to:
   • Start Simply – don’t go on a thirty-day Himalayan retreat right off of the bat. Do smaller, easier practices such as going on walks without your phone.
   • Read More – Start reading widely from the wisdom literatures and be careful not to start with the densest texts.
   • Let Go – Reject the urge to over-analyze. Strive to be more accepting of certain experiences at face value and accept your gut reactions rather than overanalyzing and overintellectualizing things. Acceptance, acceptance, acceptance.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

Five takeaways:

1. Points, games, adventure: the writer of this article turned to the “gamification” of parenting to incentivize good behavior from his children. Borrowing from fantasy books and video games, he would create quests and have his children compete for “experience points”—or XP— that could be redeemed for rewards.
2. Initially, it worked. The children’s behavior changed for the better. But quickly, the author and his wife began worrying that they were perpetuating– and bringing into the home– the near inescapable onslaught of quantification and competition that shape behaviors (grades, social media likes, performance reviews).
3. The worry is the replacement of sources of motivation. External motivators like XP are like the short-term, high-carb-candy-bar version of motivation. Eventually, there’s a crash– and motivation can wane.
4. Here we encounter self-determination theory that argues that motivation arises when individuals fulfill three basic needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. If these three needs are met, there is no need for an external reward.
5. Additionally, an overreliance on external rewards not only impedes kids from motivating themselves but also could make them feel like their parent’s love is conditional. The kids will begin conflating the reward with their parents’ love. It is better to create an environment where creativity and curiosity drive positive engagement in children.

From Josh Wilbur at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.