Greetings, editors! Happy Valentine's Day! Know that you are loved and appreciated by our BellaOnline community of editors, and by all of our loyal BellaOnline visitors!

I apologize for being quiet for a little while. Our remaining elderly pet, Pinto the Parakeet, passed away at age 11. That was sad, but best for the ailing Pinto. With pet-care now settling down, I have been heads-down plowing through my backlog and catching up on tasks! I finally got a Mac laptop and am learning to create iPhone apps, so we can create some for BellaOnline and be a part of this area.

I am taking a short 4-week meditation course and I find its instruction to be *exceedingly* helpful in focus, attention, and stress relief. I am putting my notes in the meditation forum -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php/forums/206/1/Meditation

One thing I have learned in my studies is that when we have a thought (for example "I just can't do things right") it actually sends electrical impulses to our vocal chords and tongue. Subtle signals - we don't speak out loud of course - but the signals do travel. These are called "sub vocalizations". As you might imagine, if we are thinking negative thoughts a lot, this has an effect on our brain and on our health! Thoughts are not just imaginary things in our brain. They have a very real impact on all of us.

So part of what meditation does is help us be aware of these wayward - and often destructive - thoughts. Meditation helps us focus our mind and energy on things we choose, and to find clarity to select paths that are healthy.

Many editors listed "stress relief" and "focus on projects" in their 2010 goal list. If you need help with either area, come by the meditation forum! Scientists see actual brain wave pattern changes in people after only a few weeks of meditation practice. Meditation has a measurable, show-up-on-machines result in your brain, to help your brain work much more smoothly and clearly. We're here to help! Just 5 minutes a day can have an amazing effect!

QUARTERLY WRITING CONTEST

Each month we draw names from the pool of editors who wrote weekly for the previous three months. So for December we draw names from editors who wrote weekly for Sept-Oct-Nov. Here are the winners of a $50 Amazon gift card! If you are named here, please write back with the email address you want me to send the card to. I want to make sure it gets to you through spam blockers and you know where to look for it!

December

Our first December winner is Lyn Sedmina, our Christian Literature editor. Lyn has been with us since July 2009 and provides insightful reviews of books on all aspects of Christianity.
http://christianliterature.bellaonline.com


Marjorie Coletta of our knitting site is our second winner for December. Knitting is a great way to reduce stress, to provide clothes for friends and family, and to create beautiful works of art! Marjorie helps all of us learn this fascinating skill.
http://knitting.bellaonline.com


January

Our first January winner is Neville Sexton, our Child Loss editor. If ever there is a challenging topic for us to help our visitors with, it is child loss. Neville helps our visitors navigate this difficult journey, providing a quiet shoulder and a comforting voice.
http://childloss.bellaonline.com

Our second winner in January is Monica Foster, who writes our Disabilities site. This is another very important topic for us. Any person can become disabled, and the challenges disabled people face in the world can seem almost surmountable. Monica provides guidance and encouragement.
http://disabilities.bellaonline.com

Congratulations!

Lisa Shea, owner
BellaOnline.com

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