Virtues: In the last few "O"zones, we have talked about the vices of negative and positive emotions. The transformation from negative to positive emotions and then onto virtues is the core purpose of life.

Virtues are a state of being that deny fear, worry, control, and victim-hood. The states of virtue are the foundation for the most powerful states of creation we can experience in this life. I am going to include the quotes that I have gathered and been given to share through the years to help you gain a greater insight into these dynamic states of being. Share your thoughts and insights you may have in reading this month's edition. Enjoy the quotes:

Love: The truth never needs to be protected. We feel defensive when we are protecting a flaw, a weakness or a lie. Love never needs to be defended. It is self- proclaiming. It is solid and magnificent by itself. Virtue is unassailable. The divine within us is like the universe before us. It is real, grand, good, beyond comprehension and is undeniable. When we find that reality in ourselves and celebrate it, we become powerful, peaceful and purposeful.

We cannot truly know ourselves, or the God that loves us, created us and sponsors our growth and maturity outside of pure love.

When we serve, we serve out of love or out of manipulation. If a mother launders and irons her family's clothes, it is out of love or out of a desire to obtain control. Only love creates a win-win scenario. Only love has no attachment to outcome. Only love truly serves.

The only gift God seeks from us is our love. Love is demonstrated through obedience.

You have the power to choose. You have the ability to form, from the material of your experiences, what you want your life to be. Guilt and contentment are made of the same material. Shame and self-love are formed of the same clay. The material of life is less relevant than the craftsman who shapes it, forms it, and sees in it the finished product long before the material is ever worked upon. Whether you realize it or not you are the craftsman. Decide how you want your life to be, create it in your mind, and start acting that way. It will become exactly what you believe it will become.

The greatest gift we can give to others is love. Thus, self-love is the only true gift we can give to ourselves. How do we express self-love?

Take your frustrations to the Lord and give your love to your family.

We only get in life proportionate to what we give and the love with which we give it.

Moral agency becomes free agency when we act obediently through love.

Only that which we love can add to us. Everything else controls us.

Gratitude: Dis-stress is the inability to feel gratitude for your circumstance. Stress is to experience willingly a soul stretching experience. Joy is to willingly submit your will to God. Judgment always pits your will against God's. It is a byproduct of pride. Pride is the great sin. Humility is the great virtue. It grows out of a relentless confidence and an unerring knowledge of God's character and reality.

Grief can only be processed properly when we add gratitude to the mix.

Here are the steps to overcoming an uncomfortable event:
First breathe.
Then relax.
Next feel the feelings and the situation you are in.
Fourth, Watch what is involved and what is around you. Be truly aware. Be cautious to eliminate labels. See things for what they really are.
Fifth: Allow the experience to flow around you and through you. You are like a rock in the stream. The stream will flow and change, but you will only be made more smooth and beautiful by the pressure it exerts.
And last, Gratitude. Feel gratitude that God has chosen to allow you this refining experience. In it is implied trust and love. God knows you are good and powerful.

God never pushes someone who can't give any more.

Gratitude, and humility. This state frees our vision. It opens our minds to see things, and others as they really are. This is the state of enlightenment, oneness, charity and godliness. These are the eyes that see far off.

To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.

Humility is the ultimate reality.

Humility asks questions. Pride states opinions.

It is the humility of the student, not just the stature of the teacher that lets a lesson be profound.

Dr. O's Comment--This is Old/New News. We have been telling you this for over 5 years, and finally science has decided to admit to the long obvious fact: The most popular drug in the world doesn't really work. Surprised? I'm not. For years Americans have spent over $1000/year per patient to take statin drugs, and they benefit only 1% while harming 10-15% of those who take it. Do you think this is a good trade off? I don't. Krill oil is not harmful at all and helps 100% of the patients who take it. Do you like those odds more? I do. Here is the Old/New News:

Benefits of Statin Drugs Overrated

According to recent research, the benefits of statin drugs are highly overrated, and the 13 million Americans using them may get little, if any, benefit.

Although statins can be life-saving for those who have high cholesterol and have already had heart attacks, recent studies show no reduction in deaths for people over the age of 65--regardless of how much the drug lowered their cholesterol--and no benefit at all for women of any age!

Even though Americans are bombarded with ads touting the benefits of statins, close study of drug company ads tell a different tale. In small print, an ad for Lipitor stated that "in a large clinical study, 3% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor." The trial lasted over three years, meaning that for every one hundred people taking Lipitor for at least three years, only one person avoided having a heart attack. The other 99 got no benefit. Other studies have indicated that as many as 250 patients would need to be treated in order to benefit one person. (Dr. O's Comment--For those doing the math, that is 35 people who suffer, and a cost of $250,000 to limit one heart attack death. This stinks when exercise and Krill Oil would probably have helped five times that many people, at a tenth of the cost. Have we been hoodwinked? How are we being hoodwinked now? The new HPV vaccine??? Beware!)

Statins cause side effects in 10%-15% of users that include diarrhea, muscle pain, cognitive impairment, and sexual dysfunction, and they cost about $1000 a year.

"Most people are taking something with no change of benefit and a risk of harm," says Dr. James M. Wright, a professor at the University of British Columbia and director of Canada's Therapeutics Initiative, an organization which examines the data on drugs and decides how well they work.

By: Sylvia Hubbard
Source: Newsmax. January 22, 2008.

New Study Links Caffeine to Miscarriages

-A study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology finds that pregnant women who consume 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day-- the amount in 10 ounces of coffee or 25 ounces of tea--may double their risk of miscarriage.

-The study included 1,063 pregnant women. Of 264 women who said they used no caffeine, 12.5 percent had miscarriages. But the miscarriage rate was 24.5 percent in the 164 women who consumed 200 milligrams or more a day.

-The study suggests pregnant women may want to reduce their intake or cut it out entirely.

Antidepressant Studies Unpublished

-A new analysis found that makers of antidepressants like Paxil and Prozac have mislead doctors and consumers about the drugs' true effectiveness.

-In published trials, about 60 percent of people taking the drugs report significant relief from depression, compared to 40 percent on placebos. When you include the unpublished trials, the advantage shrinks: the drugs outperform placebos, but by a modest margin.

-While 94 percent of the positive studies found their way into print, just 14 percent of the studies with disappointing or uncertain results were published.

-"This is a very important study for two reasons," said Dr. Jeffrey M. Drazen, editor and chief of The New England Journal. "One is that you need to show respect for the people who enter the trial. Two is that when you prescribe drugs, you want to make sure you're working with the best data possible; you wouldn't buy stock if you only knew a third of the truth about it."

Osteoporosis Drugs Triple Risk of Bone Necrosis

-A University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute study has found that a popular class of osteoporosis drugs, called bisphosphonates, nearly triples the risk of developing bone necrosis, a condition that can lead to disfigurement and incapacitating pain.

-It is the first study to link bone necrosis to specific brands of bisphosphonates, such as Actonel, Didrocal, and Fosomax. Researchers found that all three brands had similar outcomes.

Group Seeks Botox Warning After 16 Death Reports

-A U.S. consumer group is seeking stronger warnings on Botox and similar injections following reports of 16 deaths after the botulinum toxin spread inside the body.

-Botox is famous for smoothing facial wrinkles but also has approved medical uses such as treating cervical dystonia (rigid neck muscles). Myobloc is cleared only for the next condition. By injecting the botulinum toxin, nerve impulses to the muscles are blocked and causes them to relax. If it paralyzes a vital organ, however, the results could be fatal.

-16 cases reported to the FDA were fatal, including four involving children under 18! Eighty-seven patients were hospitalized.

-Some are asking for a much stronger, black box warning to be placed on Botox. Make sure you are willing to pay the true cost of apparent youth!