Hello Friends,

Be Aware of Stress-

"…life never calms down long enough for us to wait until tomorrow to start living the lives we deserve." — Sarah Ban Breathnach

Our bodies are genetically programmed to go into ‘fight or flight’ mode when we feel threatened. Unfortunately, many of us today live in ‘fight or flight’ mode all the time. Stress has become our natural way of being.

This is very hard on our bodies physically. It’s also hard to feel happiness, appreciation, fun, compassion, generosity and other wonderful qualities when we’re always stressed out.

Are you in the habit of always being stressed? Check in regularly with your body with these steps: Stop what you’re doing, close your eyes and tune inside. Ask yourself, "How does my body feel?" Scan from head to toe. Really feel your body. Be there with your experience. Choose to be at ease. Breathe deeply to relax your body and mind. Don’t be concerned if you don’t instantly relax. You’ll be moving in the right direction. It takes time to build new habits.

Our quality of life improves dramatically when we learn how to live more easily. We are strongest, healthiest and most capable when our bodies are relaxed and open so energy flows through us. Through awareness, we can begin to consciously choose ease and effortlessness rather than upset at any time.

And wow, does life improve when we begin to master this one! “"If we could learn how to balance rest against effort, calmness against strain, quiet against turmoil, we would assure ourselves of joy in living and psychological health for life." — Josephine Rathbone

Across the rippling, crevassed whitescape of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, two unusual shapes appear in this grayscale satellite image of the frozen continent. The smooth, dark gray oval shapes are slight depressions in the surface of the ice sheet that trace out the shorelines of two lakes that are buried several thousand meters (more than 2 miles) deep in ice. Scientists recently published the first thorough description of the size, depth, and origin of these two large lakes, called 90° East Lake (for its longitude) and Sovetskaya Lake (for the Russian research station that was unknowingly built over top it many years ago).

The two lakes are close to Lake Vostok, thought to be the largest of Antarctica’s 70 or more subglacial lakes. The water in the lakes is kept from freezing by warmth from the surface of the Earth and the insulation provided by the thick covering of ice. Scientists believe Vostok and the new lakes may contain unique ecosystems isolated from the outside world for tens of millions of years. The survival of life in these buried lakes could provide corroboration for the idea that life could exist in an ice-covered ocean that some scientists believe exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa