Building Bone Vitality, a review

Building Bone Vitality, by Amy Lanou, is a book I would recommend to anyone who is interested in healthy living.  It not only addresses bone loss but other diseases such as diabetes, dementia, or cancer.  The studies mentioned aren’t all new.  I recall reading about them perhaps twenty years ago.  They made sense then; they make sense now. 

I grew up on a dairy, drank lots of milk.  I’ve always exercised, got plenty of sunshine.  No need to worry about developing osteoporosis.  Then one day my doctor told me I was in the early stages.  It didn’t make sense.  How could I when I was doing what was considered all the right things?  I added a lot of calcium to my diet, but one thing concerned me.  I was occasionally bothered by kidney stones.  The doctor assured me that by taking calcium supplements, I would no longer be bothered.  I was also surprised to learn that some of my teeth were decayed.  I have all my teeth, except for my wisdom teeth, and lately I discovered some were cracked.

Enter, Amy Lanou’s book.  It’s intelligent and full of scientific data.  It doesn’t avoid questionable results in studies, but approaches each with honesty.  Really solid stuff.  It’s got to be, because until something better comes along, I’m basing the future of my bones, brains, whole body on it.

The Dalai Lama

Years ago, I ran across a gem in the Chico State Library.  My Land and My People.  Several things struck me about this book.  The Dalai Lama wrote it.  It is his autobiography, telling how he was chosen, how he ruled, what his dreams were for his people, his struggle to save Tibet from Chinese take-over, and his escape into India.  How he was chosen to be Dalai Lama, or rather discovered, makes a strong case for a belief in reincarnation.  As a child, he had to remember items he had owned in his previous incarnation as the Dalia Lama.  And he did.

Nevertheless he wasn’t pushing beliefs.  Neither was he pushing causes.  I marvel at the lack of anger or bitterness in his tone as he told how he tried to save Tibet, through failed negotiations with China and through ignored appeals for help from the United Nations.  To escape assassination he was forced to flee to India.

Through all this, he had not one word of resentment against anyone.  Because of who and what he is, his life is not one of failure but of victory.  His power, instead of being confined to Tibet or China, has reached throughout the world, touching the hearts of many.  He’s my hero.  Whenever I think of writing negatively about a living person, I pause because the Dalai Lama is my example of a loving human being who looks upon the world with humor and compassion.

New Year’s Resolution

Last year, I googled myself and was surprised at how much information was available on me and my writing.  Try it on yourself and see what comes up.  Personal information, made public, was disturbing, a bit scary.  On the other hand, the info on my writing hadn’t brought any readers.  I realized I needed to get the word out, but I kept running into a wall of paralysis.

I’m a major introvert, an agoraphobe, shy.  My hubby, bless his heart, understands this and allows me to recoup my energy from quiet moments and nature walks.  The rub with serious writing, however, is that it must be shared.  And how can it be shared if it isn’t promoted?  Eventually I realized that it was more than my introverted nature that blocked me from pushing my work.  I had to overcome the feeling that my writing was trivial, not worthy of attention.  It didn’t matter that the beloved Harry Potter stories, which are pure entertainment, soared to the top of best seller lists.   It didn’t matter that I knew my writing was good.

What was stopping  me?

I needed to go through a process.  Did I want to succeed in winning readers?  Yes!  I had to make that decision.

I asked my guiding spirit, “Show me, dear Lord, what’s blocking me.  What’s causing that paralyzing fear.  Show me how to overcome.”

Reaching out for spiritual help, I was struck by a realization:  The paralysis was rooted in how I was brought up, what I was taught, and how I was treated by those closest to me.  As if my creative pursuits didn’t matter.  As if they were simply hobbies that could be dismissed into a drawer.   I invited such disregard because self promotion embarrasses me.  Once I understood what lay behind this paralysis, hurt welled up.  But the paralysis faded.  A remaining fear slows my progress, but I can step forward now in my plan to build a platform.  I can move on the conviction that I have spiritual encouragement, and my hubby’s.

From where I sit behind my computer, I look at a scarred oak desk I bought years ago from a friend, and then discovered  inside the drawer someone had written, “Write, you fool.”

So I write, but I also work on my platform.  In fact, that is my New Year’s Resolution.

Interview online for Finnegan’s Quest by Nandini Deka

You can catch my interview at MusikDIV India Online Magazine.   http://www.musikdiv.co.cc