We all go through times in life when our confidence takes a hit. Something goes a bit wrong in your work or personal life and suddenly your self-esteem feels a bit shaky. This sort of confidence crisis can be difficult to recover from, which is why I thought for this blog post I would take a look at some ways to give your confidence a boost.
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Miracles do happen. Any person can experience it through his faith or through the help of another individual.

For people with disabilities, particularly the amputees, the miracle they can gain can come from the power of the mirror. It’s been proven that through this basic household item, people who no longer have complete limbs can still lead a quality life.

Stevo, an amputee himself, has been on a humanitarian mission traveling to different countries to help the underprivileged amputees. His goal is to ease the phantom limb pain these amputees often experience and help them cope with the depression they may be facing as a result of their condition.

But instead of using drugs or any other form of alternative medicine, Stevo uses the magic of mirrors. This unique kind of therapy uses acrylic mirrors that are hand-made using local materials. It is very cost effective because apart from the absence of drugs, patients need not visit doctors or clinics or travel to the town centers. Stevo himself fabricates the mirrors that are of two lengths – one for the arm amputees and the other for the leg amputees.

This mirror therapy is done by allowing patients to view a mirror image of his limb in place of the one that was amputated. By constantly letting them do this, the brain then starts to re-wire and stops giving warning signals that normally causes the pain. Ideally, this visualization technique needs to be done at least twice every day for up to five weeks in order for the patient to be healed throughout his lifetime.

The use of mirrors as a healing aid was developed by one of the world’s top neuroscientists, VS Ramachandran, back in the 1990s. It has been proven effective for more than 15 years now and is, in fact, also being practiced by the U.S. Military, the American Automobile Association and the American Pain Foundation. Interestingly, the technique has also been found to treat other conditions including stroke, paralysis, different nerve disorders and complex regional pain syndrome.

Thanks to Stevo and his campaign, poor amputees who may feel hopeless and frustrated about their situation can now look forward to leading a quality life. Donations can still be given until February 15 after which Stevo will embark on his next mission of bringing acrylic mirrors via his cargo bicycle. His goal is to collect $5,000 that would enable him to provide mirrors for the next three months until May.

Stevo is currently running a crowd fund raising campaign at StartSomeGood.com, he needs to reach the target of $5,000 for all the money to go to helping people in Cambodia who have lost limbs. Please give what you can.

About the author:
Teresa is a freelance blogger and mom of two who gets inspiration from the success stories of people helping other people.

Most of us don’t give a second thought to the way we breathe – it’s just something that we do subconsciously. And yet proper breathing is essential to good health and wellbeing. Poor breathing can cause us to feel fatigued, reduces alertness and can increase feelings of anxiety. However, breathing correctly can help to reduce stress and anxiety, improve our ability to exercise and can even help to boost our immunity.

By breathing properly we are giving our brain and other vital organs the right amount of oxygen and essential nutrients they need to function optimally. However, things such as stress, anxiety and poor posture can change the way in which we breathe.
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Sometimes at Christmas time we get so caught up in buying presents, decorating the house and stocking up on festive foods that the holiday becomes a stressful and indulgent event. This struck me particularly this year when I read news reports about people’s anger at websites not delivering gifts on time and stores opening on Christmas day to get the sales started early. It’s all just getting a bit too commercial for my liking. That’s why I’ve decided for this blog post to think of some ideas for charitable things to do at Christmas. I’m certainly going to try to do a couple of them and I hope they inspire you in a similar way.

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We spend an average of eight hours a day, five days a week at work. And that’s an awfully long time if you don’t particularly enjoy your job or get some sort of fulfillment from it. As the new year approaches many of us feel the need to make a change in our lives, and perhaps that change might be in the form of a new career?
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