I caught a segment of the Ellen Degeneres show yesterday that I found fascinating. Her guest was Dr. Wayne Dyer who talked about how many millions of people (including children) are currently taking anti-depressants to boost their serotonin levels and thereby reduce symptoms of depression. He said that while medical science can't actually measure whether or not one has lower than normal levels of serotonin, they can measure what effects certain stimuli have on an individual's serotonin level. As a result, studies have been done to see what, if any, effect a simple act of KINDNESS has on a person.

The studies prove that not only does performing an act of kindness raise your levels, it also raises the levels of the person receiving your kindness! Add to the mix the fact that people who simply WITNESS acts of kindness also experience the exact same increase in their serotonin levels!

Pretty amazing stuff.

They challenged America to participate in a "Month of Doing Good" in an effort to encourage people to try this new approach to helping those with depression. If you'd like to know more, check out this link.

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/04/all_join_ellen_and_dr_wayne_dyer_i.php

Appears the RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS movement hasn't died after all, but was just busy being scientifically investigated.

;)
SMW

My seratonin level is quite low and I wanna keep it that way, thank you very much.

:hitout:

DDT did a job on me:(

Person of the Week: Bert Brady

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lKbaAb5Y3s

(narrative)

Veteran Makes Soldier Homecomings a Daily Ritual

Feb. 2, 2007 — - Just about every morning for the past year, Bert Brady has been getting up, having a cup of coffee and heading over to the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. But this ritual has nothing to do with travel. He's at the terminal to welcome home American troops as they return from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I went 300 days last year," Brady said. "They are glad to see us, and we are tickled to death to see them because they are our heroes."

Brady, a 69-year-old veteran, is a member of the Welcome Home a Hero program at his local airport. He makes sure every soldier that comes through Dallas gets a special homecoming.

And he has reached out to almost anyone who will join him.

"We have people who only come on weekends. We have people who come during the week," Brady said. "We have a lot of support from the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts."

Veterans Stick Together

Brady shows up each day with the goal of making soldiers feel appreciated and proud of their service. He's often joined by veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars who did not get a warm reception when they returned from battle.

"We are not going to forget them like a lot of Vietnam soldiers have been forgotten," Brady said. "We are not going to forget the soldiers of today."

One Korean War vet working with Brady added, "We owe it to them. They're doing a good job for us. When I came home in 1954, there was nobody, no nothing."

And for Brady, it's simply "rewarding" to greet the soldiers.

"You can't make 200 people happy and not feel that. Ninety-five percent of them are smiling, and you never can tell if one of their buddies has just died in their arms yesterday," he said. "So you get all kinds of emotion coming through."

And the soldiers appreciate the efforts. "It's great. … They took the time out of their day to be here," one soldier said.

"It's incredible to see the support," said one soldier's wife, who was in tears. "Everybody cheering him on … it's a little embarrassing, but we appreciate it."

When asked why he is so dedicated to this effort, Brady pointed to a moment he shared with one soldier.

"He said, 'Mister, I will never forget you,' and my heart was almost pounding like it was going to burst out of my chest," Brady said. "He said, 'It's the greatest thing that ever happened to me.'"

I know I felt pretty good when the person in front of me bought my breakfast for me.

I know I felt pretty good when the person in front of me bought my breakfast for me.

I thought of you when I saw the story yesterday!

However, I've also thought of those people who figure everybody's out for something and look at you like you have two heads if you offer to help them. Fortunately, I think those grumpy people are a minority of the gen population.

A really good friend of mine is taking her son to Indy for surgery next week. She told me that the only way they would be able to pay for gas there and back is to put it on the credit card. They have 7 people in their family and they live on once income.

So.... My mom and I are going to give her some money to use for gas.

I can feel the levels rising already!

sex is the best way. and it has many many more health benefits.